4 Reasons You Know It May Be Time To Move on From An Idea, Project, or Goal
It can be hard to move on from a dream, desire, or new project. Sometimes we get it in our minds that if we start something we can't ever stop it. It could be from a fear of failure (or people thinking you failed) or any number of reasons. So how do we decide if it is time to move on?Last month I discontinued my Faith and Life Podcast which was a weekly, interview based podcast to help people connect their faith to everyday life. Below are some of reasons that went in to moving on from the project, and may be helpful for you to think through if you are also trying to decide your next steps on something you are currently involved with.
1) You don't enjoy it anymore
Maybe you thought you would enjoy it. Or maybe you enjoyed it in the beginning but have found that after doing it for a while you don't enjoy it like you thought you would. This is one of the reasons I ended my podcast. I enjoyed it in the beginning, and I enjoyed most of the interviews once we got started, but the totality of all it took to do it (scheduling guests, reading their books, editing and uploading the show, etc.) became more "work" for me than something I looked forward to doing.Again, it's not that I didn't enjoy any of it, but over time I found myself not wanting to do the whole process more than wanting do it.
2) You personally don't want the product
This was helpful for me in deciding to end the podcast. My podcast was about helping connect their faith to everyday life. I think resources like that are helpful and certainly needed, but it wasn't necessarily content that I personally would go out of my way to listen to. Not because I am more holy and spiritually mature than others, but as a pastor, learning how to connect my faith to everyday life is not a tension point for me.That is not at all to say that I am perfect at it or don't have things to learn, but there are other topics that I gravitate towards and desiring to learn from. Things like leadership, communication, and ministry. I have learned from others and personally found that if you produce content you are interested in and passionate about, you will find other people that are interested in it as well.
3) You aren't gaining much (or any) traction
I'm a highly competitive person (for better and for worse), so if I don't see improvement I get frustrated. This of course is not the only or even the main reason it may be time to move on from something, but it may help you in your decision. I did my podcast for one full year and it wasn't gaining much traction or growth.As someone who likes to get better and see improvement, this also played into me enjoying it less. If it was growing, I very may well have continued doing it. But the lack of desired growth, combined with reason #1 and #2, it made the decision to move on easier.
4) You found something else you want to pursue
In fact, there is a good chance what you are doing now has led you to discover something else you want to try or would enjoy more. In which case it's not much of a "failure" after all. Often it takes time and trying things to discover what you're really passionate about. Pursue that thing, especially if you can relate to some of the tensions I described above.Personally, ending the Faith and Life Podcast has given me the ability to try some things that I am enjoying even more, like resourcing church planters at Practical Church Planting, and even changing the focus of this blog to writing content around leadership, communication, and ministry. I still think my former podcast is a helpful resource, but I'm glad I decided to move on to something else. If it is time for you to do the same, go for it!