Knowing When to Quit & Finding Balance (SoLSC 23/31) #sol15

Sometimes the hardest thing to know is when to quit. Once I’ve committed to something, or pursued an idea, I want to see it through to the end because I wouldn’t have worked on it if I wasn’t passionate about it or felt that it was necessary. Unfortunately, life sometimes gets in the way.

Over the weekend, I had to make a difficult decision to put a pause on something that I’ve been working on for over a year (a book idea). I talked through lots of aspects around it with my husband, but ultimately, I had to make the decision to step back. Essentially: quit. (Although I prefer to look at it as just putting on a backburner for now – knowing that it might still be there when I am able to work on it again.)

Because of circumstances outside of my control, my focus and time are going to need to be on other things in the coming months, meaning I would be constantly feeling guilty for not finding the time to work on this idea, and therefore, not being fair to myself or the other person impacted by it. And I don’t want to have things hanging over my head anymore making me feel like I can’t have any downtime. And although I hope one day to find that I have the time to go back to it, at this point I have to put it on hold.

Sometimes it can be hard to say no to opportunities, and it can be even harder to say no once you’ve invested time and energy and thought into one. But when life throws bends in the road at you, you need to be able to lean into the curve, which may mean throwing something out the window so you don’t end up off balance.