Your stomach is always in knots. You yell at your spouse or kids over the smallest things. On your lunch hour, you just want to take a nap. Maybe it’s time to rethink your situation.
Over the years I have had many of those “hit you over the head” moments. You know the one where you come to the stunning realization that NOW is the time? But there have also been times when I have sat and stewed for weeks or months, wondering if I was making the right decision.
I polled my friends on Facebook, and came up with these
You’re Crying/Dreading/Angry/Sick Every Day
If your job, relationship or living situation is affecting you negatively, be it physically, mentally, or emotionally, that’s a good sign it’s time to quit.
“I knew it was the right decision when I noticed I wasn’t angry all the time (anymore).”
“When it became evident it was affecting my health.”
“When I was secretly fantasizing about the other person dying a natural death.”
“When I developed an ulcer.”
Different Values or Directions
You’ve been there for years and there’s no room left for improvement or advancement. Or your values are way off each other.
“If the job didn’t fulfill me or my children couldn’t be a priority, then it wasn’t worth keeping.”
“Realizing that the direction you are heading is not the direction you want to be going and asking oneself is this what I want to settle for in the end.”
The Situation Goes From Bad to Worse
The last company I worked at went from a 10 person office to a 25 person factory/office in a matter of months. Growing pains aside, we also went from having some degree of autonomy to having our corporate bosses in Spain dictating and second-guessing every move we made. All the fun got sucked right out of the room. That’s when I knew it was time to leave.
You’ve Tried to Remedy the Situation
You can see the problem. You try to have a meeting, offer a suggestion or even fix your own “bad attitude”, but to no avail.
“I went to them and made specific recommendations on how to improve business. They did none of them.”
In my case, it seemed that any time one of us tried to improve/modernize a process, or explain why what works in Spain won’t necessarily work in the U.S., we were immediately shot down. “Because I said so” was heard regularly.
Your Gut Tells You It’s Time to Quit
Sometimes you just have a feeling, that “hit you over the head moment” or God breeze, or gut punch. Whatever, you call it, be sure to trust that “still, small voice.1“
“For me, it is a feeling. I know when something is no longer right for me and scary or difficult as it may be, it is time to leap and hope the net appears.”
“When I prayed about it and couldn’t get a settled feeling about staying. I knew that was the Holy Spirit telling me ‘It’s time to go.'”
The Next Step
If at all possible, try to have an exit plan. Sometimes, just knowing you have a way out will make it easier to get through the last few months.
Whatever, you do, don’t wait too long. After all, you have the rest of your life ahead of you!
1 1 Kings 19:12
Great blog post, Teresa. Knocked this one out of the water!
Thank you, Nancy!