Photo: beatplusmelody / Flickr

If you’ve had enough of your job and you’re wondering if you should quit, there’s a Chinese saying worth considering: ‘If you must play, decide on three things as the start: the rules of the game, the stakes and the quitting time.’ Beginnings have endings and if you’ve reached the end but you’re too scared, don’t know how to quit or are afraid of the consequences, read on. There is no reason to stay in a situation that you’ve outgrown.

Explore your situation online

There are such sites as I Resign which allow you to read other like-minded people’s frustrations and challenges. Explore your feelings and thoughts a little by reading or contributing to the discussion forums. You can also start perusing new job hunting advice and if you decide that you really do want to quit, have a look through the sample resignation letters on offer.

Some questions to ponder

If you’re still undecided, post your resume on online job sites using a pseudonym just to see what happens. While you’re exploring your options on the job scene, think about what you would do if you were actually fired from your job. What would you do to find something new that suits you? Work out how you would manage financially.

If you’re self-employed and you’ve had enough, explore what would happen if your business went insolvent. What would you do to survive? With your expertise, would it be appropriate to call a head hunter? Perhaps all you really need to do is make an appointment with a business coach to find ways of taking your business to another level.

Take action

As Machiavelli said, ‘all courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.’

Quitting doesn’t have to be permanent. You can always go back to your old career or start a new business if you feel that you’ve made a mistake.

Tags: career, work ethic