NickVenturella.com 9-24-23 - Quit to Win

I’m reading the book, “Quitting: A Life Strategy," (affiliate link) by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Julia Keller. My wife checked it out of the library for me when I made the decision to leave the job I was in several weeks back.

This might help you too, if you’ve ever find yourself in a situation where you need to quit, but have to consider several complexities as you pull the quit-trigger.

The book took a little bit for me to get into at first. It was because there was a lot of context – science-based research (not always my cup of tea) – given up front to set the stage for the rest of the book.  

I thought, “A book about quitting? Well, I’m only a few chapters in and I want to quit reading. Let’s get to where we’re going already, Ms. Keller.” 

I did end up quitting the book for several days. I was even about to return it to the library, but I thought I’d read a little more to see if it picked up and could keep my interest.  It did, and I think some of its concepts can likely resonate with many others, maybe even you.

The book helps reframe the negative stigma around quitting to help people understand that ending something is often having enough self-awareness to determine what’s needed at a particular time in their lives, and it’s okay – sometimes necessary, even though much of society would shame us for not persevering with grit.

The book’s idea is that if something in your life is not working or serving you in a way you need to feel reasonably healthy, confident, and productive then strategically quitting is likely best. This kind of quitting allows you to end the thing that no longer serves you in order to find something new that will.

It’s scary because the unknown is scary, but the book’s research, case studies, and quotes from average folks (non-celebrities) indicates that “quitting” actually leads to more success for those who quit.

Perhaps the toughest part for the “quitter” is overcoming, for themselves, the personal emotional and societal stigma that they’re a failure or somehow less-than for taking a self-preserving action to pause, heal, recover, improve, and move forward in a better direction.

That better direction will ultimately benefit not only the individual “quitter,” but those in and around their life over time. 

In time they will improve their capacity to have a positive impact on themselves, their loved ones and the world because they recognized that one path wasn’t working so to gain back their health (mental or otherwise), confidence, and productivity they need to embark on another path that better aligns to them. 

That self-love spills over into every relationship in their lives.

I appreciate everyone’s support. I’m happy to announce that I’ve landed a new job that I believe will be a better path forward for me and my family.

If you find yourself in the middle of a situation where you may need to quit, feel free to reply and let me know. I’m happy to listen and support you.

--------------------------------------------------Updates----------I took some time to revamp my personal website. Feel free to check it out:nickventurella.com----------I've just updated The GrowLoop Journal. It's The GrowLoop Journal 2.0, I suppose.The GrowLoop Journal is a personal documentation system to help combat disengagement, distraction, and depression to feel better and be more productive in your life and career. It's based on proven science about the mental and physical health benefits of journaling.----------Dan Lezama and I (we make up the music duo group, Gemini's Rival) have been busy re-recording new versions of our back catalog of songs from the mid/late '90's & early 2000's.Here are three songs (of several songs to be released) that are now out on all major streaming platforms.Listen to songs, Night to Die,  Everlasting (In the End), Once in a While now.

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Stay positive. Stay healthy. Be kind.Sincerely,Nick VenturellaStrategic/Creative ProfessionalNickVenturella.com