Thinking About Quitting Your Job? Read this first.

just move on up towards your destination

though you may find, from time to time complication

-curtis mayfield: move on up

When tough times hit, my fight or flight response is triggered. My default setting and personal tendency is flight. 

I’ve quit a few jobs because of persistent frustrations I’ve had. There were fights I sized up but was unwilling to engage in. I remember feeling that I had other goals that were worthy of my energy. So I moved on to a new job, at a new company.

However, as I’ve progressed in my career, I find some challenges to be recurring. People problems always exist within people organizations. Growth problems are always found in organizations that are growing. It’s how it is. 

Running from problems may seem to solve them for you in the short term. But in some cases, you move on to another company and guess what happens: you encounter a similar problem. The details may vary but at the root it's still the same problem and you’re challenged in the same way, yet again. 

I believe this is because addressing the problem and rising to the challenge is necessary to progress to the next level. Something in you [and me] is required to grow, adapt or evolve. Until then, it’s like being stuck in a loop. Kinda like Mario Brothers, each level has a new dragon to slay. Until you can slay it, you’re stuck.

Tracee Ellis Ross has a dope quote that says, “As a younger person, my philosophy was jump off a cliff. I realize now that there are stairs and elevators.” I love this quote because it underscores that for every challenge there’s a reaction you can have, and then there’s a response.

A reaction is often immediate and unconscious- you do it without thinking. A response is conscious, thoughtful and often strategic. 

Responding is not easy work. For me, quitting a job and getting a new one is the easy path [hence power positioning]. The part that requires concentrated energy is crafting a thoughtful and strategic response - especially if I’m in my feelings about it.

Feeling frustrated is a strong, discomforting signal that something needs to change. And while quitting is always on the table, sometimes my mindset is the factor that needs to adjust.  While my first reaction may be to run, I’ve learned its constructive for me to sit with feeling frustrated and explore it a bit. These frustrations are often guideposts of where I can lean in further and contribute a few solutions to the conversation. 

Organizations and people in organizations may disappoint you. It doesn’t mean you’re in the wrong org. You might be just the change that’s needed to broaden the conversation or to present an alternate perspective. 

There’s a lot of talk about being ‘in the room’ and having a ‘seat at the table’. But if you’re one of a few, or simply the only one, it can be hella uncomfortable to speak up when you see a problem no one else seems to see. 

“Being the change” can feel like loneliness or isolation or frustration. We don’t talk about that enough.

Being in imperfect organizations is part of the experience of working. Before you decide to quit, explore alternative ways that you can show up and know that feeling frustrated is often part of the process. 

Rest if you must, but don’t quit.