3 Things To Consider Before You Decide To Quit
Whether it is closing a buisness, ending the pursuit of a dream, or simply stopping a new idea or initiative that isn't gaining any traction, whatever it is, we have all had times when we thought it was time to quite something but weren't sure if we should.In fact, in October 2016, I almost quit trying to plant New City Church. We couldn't seem to grow our small team of people, raise any significant money, and nothing seemed to be working. I didn't want to quit, but in some ways I did because it didn't seem like it was going to work (you can probably relate in some of your own experiences). But we didn't. Instead, New City Church ended up launching in April 2017 and God has already done some pretty amazing things. Below are three things I thought through that helped me decide whether or not it was time to quit.
1) Why did I pursue this to begin with?
For me, I really felt like God was leading me to be inovled in church planting. But even if you're not sure about the whole God thing, why did you pursue your thing to begin with? Was it because it seemed interesting or maybe you thought it would be fun? Was it to make someone happy or because you thought you had no other choice? Or, in some way you can't quite explain, you felt like you had to do it. In my case, I felt strongly that God was leading me to this. Now even if that is true, it doesn't gaurantee something will work, but for me, my sense of calling to this kept me going even when it didn't seem like it was going to work. If I was doing it because it seemed like a cool thing to do, I wouldn't have kept at it. The why behind what you're doing can help you decide what to do.
2) Have I tried everything I can think of?
Let's say you are wanting to workout and lose weight, but you never seem to be able to consistently do it so you think it's time to give it up all together. However, you haven't told anyone what your goals or and included anyone in the process to help you. Before you give up, wisdom would you should find someone to work out with and help you lose the weight; doing it by yourself can be really discouraging.When it came to planting New City, when we almost ended the journey that October, one of the things that gave me hope to continue was knowing we hadn't tried everything yet; there were still a couple of things we could do. I knew in the future if I looked back at that moment I would really be really dissappointed if I quit before trying everything. Maybe you have tried everything you know and it still isn't working. If so, that can help you make you're decision. But if you haven't, perhaps it's not time to quit just yet.
3) Have you asked trusted friends or mentors what you should do?
Sometimes we avoid asking others what they think because we are afraid of what they are going to say. But if you're thinking about quitting anyway, you have nothing to lose.Back in October 2016 Christina and I a very honest conversation with two people we trusted about what they thought we should do. In all honestly, it is was a big reason why decided not to quit quite yet. However, if they said they thought it was time to move on, I would have had to be ok with that. In fact, it was because of that conversation that lead me to think through point #1 and #2 in this list.As you know by now, we didn't quit the process of planting New City and looking back now are very grateful for it. But quitting isn't always a bad thing, and sometimes it is a necessary thing. So if you're in a spot where you're not sure if you should move on or not, consider these three things first as they might help you decide you next steps.