If you googled this sentence, you might be wondering the same question that I have. “Is this job really what I want to do for the next 20 years?” But then how many of you can answer yes to this question? It’s easy to just quit your job, I mean literally. But it’s darn hard to decide what to do next. So how do you know when to quit your job? Here is my answer to this.
“Can you imagine yourself doing the current work for the next 20 years?”
If your answer is “No” to this question, then you should quit immediately (almost). That means you are wasting your life wondering about things you are missing. But why are you hesitating? There must be some reasons.
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What makes you stop from quitting the current job?
I think the biggest huddle is that you don’t know what you choose next will be better than what you have right now. It’s like partners. If you are not satisfied with the current one and curious to explore more but you just aren’t sure if the next one you end up with might be the same or even worse than your current partner. So you just settle with your current “good enough” one. It’s that fear of unknown that keeps you from moving on to the next.
But how else you would find the better one if you don’t make move?
If you think about it, life is short! Not many people live more than 100 years. I feel I already lived half of my life and I don’t want to waste a single day for the rest of my life. How about you?
So when is exactly the best timing to quit your job?
Think about what you value the most. Is it your time? Fame? Friends? Family? Money? Think about what you really value, not what you think you should value. Is your current job align with that? Or is your current job keeping you away from that. That should be your answer.
How can I find my next job that is for the next 20 years?
That is close to impossible! If you did, you are the luckiest person. You will have to make changes one step at a time to get closer to what you really value. It will take time. I know it will take time to me too. But if you are afraid that the result won’t come soon and don’t make move now, it will never happen for sure.
I am standing in the beginning of my journey to make the biggest leap in my life…
I am ready to quit my job that people would consider stable and good. And I am going to start completely new things that I want and that I am truly good at. I don’t know exactly what that will be. It won’t be just one job that meet the criteria. It will be multiple things that I will challenge to figure out what’s the best for me. Hopefully I will get some support from all you throughout my journey! 🙂
I shouldn’t be giving any advice at this point because I do not have any result yet. I would be lying if I say I’m not afraid.
But I have strong confidence in myself that I won’t regret the decision I am making today. As long as I believe myself and keep making choices that I truly want, I believe there is success waiting for me at the end of my journey. Even if the ending is not a success, I will have plenty of fun and enjoyable moments throughout my journey because every choice I made is from my own will and not from “just because”.
So here is my advice to you (and to myself too!). Don’t be afraid to challenge new things. We shouldn’t be wasting a single day for the rest of our life.
Here is an interesting article about how this world is leading smart people to the same path. I can’t agree more!!
How Top-Performing College Grads Fall Into the ‘Prestige Career’ Trap
I would love to hear from anyone who is going through similar stage of life. Please feel free to leave me comments below.
Cheers! 🙂
