Quitting a Job Is a Life Skill

A love letter to saying no and moving on.

Feb 02, 2025

The other day, I found myself in a heatwave, flicking through a stack of books I’d rescued from my childhood bedroom. A mix of Roald Dahl, Andy Griffiths, and a few glossy relics from my brief attempt at becoming a fashion blogger.

As I sifted through them, I realised I’ve always been obsessed with figuring things out. As a kid, I inhaled self-help books meant for grown men trying to conquer Wall Street – guides to influence, to ambition, and to never giving up. And let me tell you, nothing warps your worldview faster than reading Think and Grow Rich at ten years old while trying to scrape together enough pocket money for a Bratz doll.

I absorbed all of it. I made mental vision boards. I plotted my rise to success. And I never, ever quit anything.

Until I did.

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The Myth of Sticking It Out

Quitting isn’t exactly a celebrated skill.

I made it all the way to black belt before quitting Kung Fu – and I felt nothing but shame. When I quit my first job after three shifts selling camping gear, I felt guilt. And when I quit my twenty-seventh job last year (yes, I counted), I felt the all-consuming need to explain myself to everyone I crossed paths with.

Every time I told someone I was resigning – again – I braced for the reaction. Some shrugged. Some cheered me on. And one particularly passionate acquaintance blurted out, ‘Bloody hell! Typical you!’

And honestly? Thank you. I’ll take that.

The Life Skill Nobody Teaches You

I used to think quitting meant I was a failure. Now I see it as an underappreciated life skill – one that nobody talks about in their motivational TED Talks because it’s bad for business.
Truly, I have never regretted quitting something that wasn’t right for me. Not once. Not the jobs. Not the classes. Not the book clubs where I spent more time scheming how to leave than actually discussing the novel.
I used to think I was lazy. Turns out, I was just paying attention.
So yes, typical me – saying no to:

Terrible managers
Unrealistic workloads
Jobs that pay in ‘experience’
Weekly pottery classes I thought would change my life but mostly stressed me out

I’m glad that’s typical me.
If I stop quitting, something is very, very wrong.

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Quitting Never Looked So Good

The other day, I saw a tote bag that proudly declared, ‘Winners don’t quit.’ It was slung over the shoulder of a very tired woman in a pantsuit, clutching her iced coffee like it was the only thing keeping her alive. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I get it. We are trained to endure. We push through bad jobs. We finish books we hate. We sit through meals that should’ve ended forty minutes ago because it would feel rude to leave.

We are taught that persistence is always noble – even when what we’ve started is actively making us miserable. And for what? A sense of pride? A LinkedIn post about resilience? A lifetime achievement award for ‘Most Tolerant of Bad Situations’?

No thanks.

When You Can’t Quit, Choose

I know not everyone can slam the door and walk away right now – but even when you can’t make a grand exit, you can still take back a little control.
Maybe you don’t quit your job tomorrow, but you take your full lunch break instead of eating at your desk. Maybe you let an email wait until tomorrow because it’s not actually urgent. Or maybe you sleep in on a Saturday without guilt, just because you can.
Small acts of defiance count. They’re steady reminders that you still have agency, even in situations that feel crappy.
And if nothing else, close your laptop, step outside, and tell the team the Wi-Fi is down. They’ll survive.