Knowing When to Leave

Why do we stay in bad situations? If you’re in a job where you are disgusted, angry or frustrated, then you know what I’m saying. Or maybe it hasn’t gotten that far yet. Perhaps you’re just tired, bored and feeling like you could be doing something else with your life. Yes, I’ve been there plenty of times. There’s a point where you know you’re not happy, but you keep going through the motions because it’s easier than calling it quits.

We stay long past the time when we should’ve left, then we end up rationalizing why we’re staying. If we want to move on, then we have to prepare for it. In my last IT job I procrastinated about writing my resume. My new job was not going to just show up on my doorstep and knock on the door. I had to at least meet it halfway. Instead I tried to talk myself into staying because after all, it wasn’t that bad. I was getting paid. So what if the environment was negative and I felt stifled, was it really going to be different somewhere else?

Sometimes we procrastinate because we aren’t ready to make a change. I had to let a few months pass before could complete my resume and start going on interviews. Even though I disliked by job, it was familiar. Strange how we can be unhappy with a situation and comfortable with it at the same time. I’ve done that enough to know that in the end, it’s not worth it. What I’ve learned (finally) is that it’s better to move towards something than to be running away from something. When you know when to leave, you get to decide where you are going.