“Don’t it always seem to go. That you don’t know what you’ve
got ‘til it’s gone.”- Counting Crows Big Yellow Taxi
We have all had to quit something and many times it
was necessary for our health or well-being. However, I know in my experience,
there have been things I have quit that I wish I had not. I think about my time
in martial arts and wish I would have kept it up, the self-discipline it taught
was amazing. I wish I would have kept playing baseball and tried to play in
high school. I wish I would have kept doing theater in high school and not
thought too highly of my football potential (which was limited). My list could
go on and on, but I am sure I am not alone.
I want to encourage us to think before we take the
action of quitting. There are three things we can do to make sure we are making
the right or wrong decision to continue or quit something.
A quick disclaimer: Last post I spoke about why we
should not give up (link:) I am not saying quit the things that are important
(i.e. faith, church, marriage, family, children, etc.). When I say it is
necessary to quit something I mean jobs, dating relationships, friendships,
etc.
Sometimes it is necessary to quit something, but
before we do, we need to take these steps:
1) Ask
Why?- What are the motives for quitting? Why do we feel like quitting? If we
are thinking about quitting because it is getting too hard, then that is not a
good reason. That is considered laziness. However, if we are quitting because we have a
better opportunity or if we stay in this position, dating relationship, friendship,
etc. we will miss out on something that will enhance us, then that may be
acceptable… which leads us to…
2) Pros
and Cons- Create a pros and cons list. Weigh out the options you have in front
of you. There is a great scene in “Along Came Polly” where Ben Stiller and
Jennifer Anniston are on a trip together. She discovers he had a “risk
assessment” in regards to their relationship. She got understandably upset, but
he was on the right track. We need to think about the best for us. If a certain
job has a better insurance package, but less pay, is it worth it? If a position
has more leadership and better pay, but no insurance, is that going to be best
for us? Weigh them out and make sure we are honest about the pros and cons….which
leads us to…
3) Seek
Wisdom- Prayer is essential and admittedly it should be listed as number 1, but
that is too obvious (I hope!). God does give us direction and gives us friends
who know us well for a reason. Seek their suggestions and guidance. Choose the
right friends to ask. Make sure they are friends that have our best interest in
mind. Listen, accept their advice, and value their presence in our life. A word
of caution: Use their information to assist us in our decision making, not
finalize our decision. Maybe they can assist in the development of the pros and
cons list? I don’t know, that’s just a suggestion.
Life decisions are tough. But,
these three steps could help make our decision process easier. I believe it
will limit the regret we may have when we go a certain direction. Try these
steps next time you have a big decision to make and let me know if they work.
Just promise you won’t quit before you know it is the right thing to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment