People say “Never give up."
That's bad advice.
7 Proven Ways Winners Succeed by Quitting:
1/ Set clear criteria for when it makes sense to quit ahead of time. Employ a premortem — imagining a future failure and its causes — to define thresholds and avoid the sunk cost fallacy.
2/ Actively seek disconfirming information. Look for signs in the present that it's time to quit rather than clinging to false hope or misreading the situation due to bias.
3/ Think in terms of opportunity costs. Quitting frees up resources to pursue better options. Time spent persisting is time not spent on alternatives that can lead to bigger success.
4/ Recognize that your identity is not tied to a single pursuit. Quitting a path does not equate to losing a part of oneself. Our identities are multifaceted and resilient.
5/ Be aware of the impact of perceived judgment. Thinking about what others will think of our decisions can make quitting harder than it needs to be. Having a 'quitting coach' helps provide an objective perspective here.
6/ Acknowledge the status quo bias. Unlike changing course, we perceive sticking with the current path as an active decision. Recognizing both as deliberate choices makes for effective decision-making.
7/ Avoid escalation of commitment in the face of losses. We intensify our commitment when faced with setbacks. Recognizing this bias is key to avoiding unproductive persistence.
These insights are inspired by Annie Duke's book "Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk" and brought to you by Omar's Desk.
PS: Strategic quitting is a muscle. By exercising it regularly in lower-stake situations, you build it up for use when it matters the most.
