Go ahead…Be a quitter!
Part 1 by Coach Joelle

Be a Quitter!

Resilience, commitment and the capacity to take something to its completion are all important aspects of powerfully creating a life you love. On the other side of the equation it is equally import to know when it is time to drop out, let go, and joyfully announce I QUIT!

How many of us spend hours, days, even years of our precious lives doing things that we don't enjoy, feel are a waste of time or that might even verge on painful?

Whether it's a class that no longer serves you, a social or business organization that saps your energy or a soul sucking job, far too often people stay in the things they are doing because they should, they have to, or they would never dare quit!

Quitting Lessons from a Spice Girl

Back in 1998 I learned an important lesson in the art of quitting from a young woman by the name of Geri Halliwell. You may know her as Ginger Spice of the 90's Spice Girls. I was a HUGE Spice girls fan (I called my self the 6th spice girl "old spice") and I can still remember the day I received the shocking news…

Now, I want you to put yourself in her shoes. You are an international star with millions of fans, you have at least 4 other people directly relying on you for their livelihood, you are midway through a world tour and you announce… I Quit! The Girl's got guts!

On that day I realized that if Ginger Spice could pick up and quit the group in front of millions with so much at stake, then surly there was nothing so big in my life that I could not also walk away from.

Being a Quitter can change your life.

Thanks to Ginger, I have been come a big advocate of quitting and I have supported my clients in quitting everything from very successful careers (to pursue being a stay at home mom) to leaving unfulfilling relationships to removing countless hours of board participation and after work commitments for more energy, balance and fun in their lives.

I have also done some pretty significant quitting in my own life. Here are just a few examples to show you the power of a well placed "no thank you!"

Quitting opportunity:

6 year relationship with my College sweetheart: We owned a house, had cats and were looking forward to years of mediocrity together (not to mention he kept making jokes about my big butt! Not OK!).

Result:

Ended the relationship, moved from Manitoba to Arizona and embarked on a whole new adventure of finding and defining myself anew. Quitting the relationship ultimately allowed me to find and marry the man of my dreams.

Quitting opportunity:

Successful 10 year career in management and recruitment to pursuing coaching full time: The ultimate decision happened in the span of about 1 hour. I had been looking for the right opportunity to take the plunge into entrepreneurship but the time had never been quite right. It was the end of 1st quarter 2004 and we received some news from corporate headquarters that had me up in arms.

I came to me clear as day, "if they do not make this right, I will have to quit." I sat with the idea for an hour. In that hour, all the to do's, the responsibilities and the piles on my desk evaporated and were replaced by freedom. At the end of that hour I realized, no matter what the company did, It was time to leave.

Result:

The following week I gave my manager 2 months notice and on June 20th I effortlessly launched into living my dream as a full time coach and have never looked back since.

Quitting Opportunity:

3 month book writing course:

I think this one was a new record,. I walked into the class in anticipation of what was to come and within 3 minutes I got that it was not the place for me.

It took me 20 minutes to find the appropriate moment to politely declare my departure, thank the instructor, pick up my materials and head on out the door.

Result:

Months of Tuesday evenings to use as I please. Zero resentment. Zero upset. And I know the book will get written when it is time, probably in some beach retreat or in a villa in Tuscany.

Is Quitting Right For You?

You may have your own opinions about making these type of quitting decisions.

• You may think it is irresponsible.
• You may think it is selfish.
• You may think it is unreasonable or impossible.

My dear friends, I am here to shake up your beliefs about quitting.

There is a powerful message in Eckhart Tolle's book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose where he addresses this exact issue. He expresses that anything created in suffering will only bring more suffering. Many people think that if they just suffer through, the end will justify the means.

However I have found this to be faulty thinking. Postponing life for "someday" and creating out of suffering is neither powerful nor inspiring and the result most often reflects this. Whatever you think you are supposed to be doing by fulfilling on unpleasant commitments, I am here to tell you that there is usually a better way. One that is way more fun and much better equipped to get you where you want to go.

So I ask you ladies and gentleman...

What are you ready to quit?

If you would to even dare to consider dropping out of some of the stuff in your life, what would you like to put on the chopping block?

The invitation: Make a list of all the activities, commitment and responsibilities that you would quit if you had the choice. Be really bold about it! I dare you to write down stuff that at first glance has you saying, oh my gosh, I could never!

Remember, you are not committing to quitting, only to writing down what comes up for you to quit. Write your list and just hang out with it a bit.

IMPORTANT: For right now I am inviting you to write the list and sit on it. Contemplate it, if you will. I am not suggesting you to go walking out on your spouse or march into your boss's office and say "I Quit and Coach Joelle made me do it!". For now we are just in the mulling over stage.

NEXT ARTICLE: We will have more quitting wisdom coming your way. Enjoy making your list and in the next article we will take the next step on your path to clearing the calendar and infusing more joy in your life.

Happy quit-list making!!

Joelle

At Coach Joelle we believe that the world is an amazing place and we are delighted to share the journey with you.

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