• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Eat Your Career

  • Need a speaker?
    • Course Catalog
    • Speaker Request Form
  • Blog
    • Archives
  • About
    • Contact
    • Testimonials
  • Success Store
    • Programs
    • Products
    • The Learning Lab
  • Log In
    • Your Account
  • 0 items
  • Career Advancers
  • Career Changers
  • Job Seekers
  • Administrative Professionals

August 25, 2010 By Chrissy Scivicque 1 Comment

Five Strategies to Cope When Quitting Really Isn’t an Option

Tweet
Share
Share61
Pin
61 Shares

Ready to quit!

Those who say “quitters never win” are fooling themselves. If you stick something out just because you’re afraid of giving up—and it’s something that no longer serves you—you’re wasting your time. And ultimately, you lose. Sure, you’re not a quitter. But you sure as hell aren’t winning either.

When it comes to work, quitting is sometimes the best move you can make. Often, it’s a necessary step for forward movement, growth, and pursuing your life’s purpose.

Still, as we all know, quitting sometimes really isn’t an option. Not because it isn’t the right thing to do; sometimes, you just can’t feasibly move on. Maybe you just can’t financially afford to leave your current job. Or maybe the health insurance coverage isn’t something you can give up. Or maybe the stress of leaving right now would be far worse than the stress of simply sticking it out for a while longer. These things happen. This is reality.

You can’t always pick up and move on the second you realize it’s the right thing to do. In fact, it’s rare that a decision to quit can be acted on quickly. It takes time and preparation. So, if you know it’s time to quit but doing so right now simply isn’t possible, try the following:

1. Emotionally disconnect.

Remember: It’s just work, it’s not YOU. Many people—myself included—think of work as an extension of their identity. So, if you’re in a job you hate, you can start to hate yourself. Now is the time to put it in perspective. You are not your job. Your job is simply providing you with something—whatever that thing is that makes quitting impossible. Focus on that and break the emotional connection.

2. Find a friend.

Happiness has a lot to do with relationships. Even if you’re ready to leave your job, you can still enjoy the social side of work. Find a person—just one is all it takes—who gets you. Having a friend at work makes every day easier.

3. Get out.

Don’t just hang around in an environment that feels like it’s slowly draining you. Get out and breathe some fresh air. Take lunch out of the office, go on walks throughout the day, or just take a few minutes to sit outside instead of stewing in the frustration that surrounds you. The more perspective you can get, the more you’ll be able to deal with the current situation.

4. Take steps.

It might not be feasible to quit right now, but circumstances will change. Start saving money, learn new skills, network and make connections. Prepare yourself for a time when you can leave this job and find something more fulfilling…because it will happen sooner or later.

5. Stress less.

I call this “managing the inner game” and truly, this is the most important point here. Believe me, once you know that quitting is what you’d like to do but it’s just not possible at the moment, your stress will skyrocket. This is a natural result of feeling trapped. Every instinct in your body is screaming, “FIGHT OR FLIGHT!” It’s also a result of feeling stagnant. You want to move forward and yet, due to circumstances beyond your control, you’re standing still. Don’t ignore these emotions; manage them. Actively work to get your stress under control so you don’t end up making some irrational, emotional decision you’ll later regret.

Filed Under: Career Change Tagged With: Quitting

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. HAPPY Admin says

    August 9, 2019 at 2:09 AM

    Love love love this!! This story seems to have read my mind I was in this place for such a long time. Although I was let go due to downsizing I’m very grateful I’m finally out of there!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect

  • facebook-official
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • linkedin
  • envelope

Do You Have a Professional Development Plan?

Available on Amazon

ALREADY READ IT?
Please leave a review!

ALREADY READ IT?
Please leave a review!

ALREADY READ IT?
Please leave a review!

Footer

QUICK LINKS

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Career Success Library
  • Career Resources for Administrative Professionals
  • Resources for Career Changers
  • Resources for Career Advancers
  • Resources for Job Seekers

Products

  • Build Your Professional Development Plan
  • The Proactive Professional
  • Personal Branding for Professional Success
  • Resume & Cover Letter Toolkit
  • Rock Your Interview
  • Build Your Professional Portfolio
  • Networking Naturally
  • Guide to Goal Setting & Goal Getting
  • Modern Business Etiquette

Services & Programs

  • Speaking & Training
  • Career Coaching
  • Resumes & Cover Letters
  • DISC Assessment & Consult
  • F.I.N.D. Your Nourishing Career
  • G.R.O.W. Your Nourishing Career
  • Job Seeker Jump Start
  • ELEVATE Admins (On-Site Training)
  • Next Wave Leaders (On-Site Training)

© 2021 CCS Ventures, LLC
Chrissy Scivicque
720.282.9431
Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.