We don’t like the thought of giving up, especially as entrepreneurs who are told to stick with it.
Sometimes, though, it does make sense to give up. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up your dreams of financial independence or ultimately being successful in running your own business. When you give up, it should
When you give up, it should be to pursue another course of action, or because something isn’t working as it should. In some cases, giving up is more about changing your approach or moving in a new direction. Done right, when you give up it can bring new opportunities.
Watch Out for the “Sunk Cost” Fallacy
One of the reasons that many people stick with something is because they feel like they have invested too much time in it to quit. This is referred to as the sunk cost fallacy. You know you can’t get your time, money, or energy back from what you’ve already invested, so you keep plowing through, deciding that it doesn’t make sense to give up because you’ve put so much in already.
Unfortunately, if you are on a track that isn’t really going to work out, when you keep doing the same thing trying to force it to work, you only end up wasting more of your resources. Once you realize something isn’t working for you, it makes sense to give up and try a different approach. There’s nothing wrong with giving up if you do so in order to regroup and move on to something better.
Is That Project Really Part of the Big Picture?
Sometimes it’s just about quitting one project, or deciding to outsource something that doesn’t work for you anymore.
Think about a project you have been working on for your business. Does it really add to the business? Will it help you scale up your business or improve it some way? Sometimes we start on things that don’t actually contribute to the overall big picture, whether that’s in our lives, or whether it’s to do with business.
Stop and reflect on why you persist in a project. If it isn’t part of the big picture, or if it’s something you can easily outsource to another person who could fo it better or free you up to focus on more important projects, it might make sense to give up and/or hand it off.
Saying No
A lot of the time we get bogged down by what we’ve said yes to. You might say yes to certain responsibilities and projects, and then find that you are overwhelmed and unable to accomplish what really matters to you. If you are in a position where you have had said yes too much and now you don’t know what to do to reclaim your life, it can make sense to give up on the least important items. Say no and walk away.
There are a lot of worthwhile things you can be doing with your time, whether it’s building your business (truly) or living a more meaningful life. Think about your responsibilities and commitments, as well as projects, and give up on what’s not working or what’s distracting you from the most important items in your life and business.
