Introduction
Lately I have been watching a lot of video’s from Dr. Jordan Peterson, a Canadian and renowned clinical psychologist. He has an extended experience interviewing people about their issues for decades long. He wants to share his experience with all persons in the world and what better medium than the internet, Youtube in particular. He is also the author of the book 12 rules of life, which has already been read by many of us.
Should I quit my job?
Today I came across his video titled “Should I quit my job” and I immediately thought this video should be part of this website, where I am helping people who are disgruntled with their work, boss or colleagues or any combination of them.
The video, in which he explains that quitting is the only thing left to do under certain circumstances, will be part of this article and I will explain and comment on it. Furthermore I will indicate some more circumstances where it is better for you to quit your job and do something else. In the last paragraph I will be giving you the escape route as mentioned in point 5 below.
Jordan Peterson’s video
So without much further ado, here is this video I mentioned before.
There are a couple of things that strike me and I like to list them for you:
- You do not quit your job as in some pursuit of happiness which is a luxury, but you quit your job as a moral obligation to yourself to choose something more meaningful.
- You should be afraid of taking the risk to quit, but be more afraid of not quitting when that job or boss makes you feel miserable.
- You will never have permanent security with any job or in any part of your life.
- Thinking of changing your career should be seen as a strategy, which could take years.
- Even when you have a job, you should always have an escape route planned.
Two examples of people quitting
Yes, canceling your job, without new work may sound scary and not very nice. Resigning has advantages, but after a while there is panic for the lack of income and boredom may strike. Here are two examples.
Bonny
Bonny had some trouble quitting her job. The seed was planted at the end of 2015, but the actual interview only took place in September 2016. “I quit with tears in my eyes. My supervisor was also emotional. We had worked together for ten years. “
Out of work
After 10 years, Bonny was out of work. She worked as a communication consultant at an IT supplier. “I was tired and noticed that I had less energy to implement my new communication plan.” She resigned without another job. ‘The search for a new position was difficult. My job was busy and I had no room to think about what I wanted to do. “
Notice given
Bonny: ‘Once I had given notice, I could look at my work with more distance, so that I saw my responsibilities much more clearly. I said what I found even easier. A wise lesson that I take to the next place is that although you think you are critical, you still get stuck when you sit somewhere long. “
Ann
Traveling is a good example for people quitting their job. That is why Ann quit hers. She traveled through the world with her husband for eight months. ‘Traveling without pressure is so magical. We had the time to do volunteer work and learn another language. Things you don’t have time for during a vacation. ” Resigning was not a difficult process for her, she lived outside her country for two years.
Unrest
Ann had enough money to last her without a job for a while, but the unrest struck two months before returning home. ‘I wanted to inform people that I was almost coming home again. And once I got home, I was nervous, didn’t want to do anything for too long. In retrospect, I sometimes think that I didn’t say yes too quickly to my current job, or that I shouldn’t have put some more offers side by side. “
My take
Bonny retired from work because it exhausted her. It was obviously not the right thing to stay in that position. If she would have stayed, she would have gone straight to a burnout. She quit because she was losing her energy.
Ann had a completely different reason to stop work. It was not the job, but her own desire to go traveling around the world. This is a personal reason to quit.
Furthermore, there are people who have to quit or are “helped” to quit, because of health reasons. These are the ones that remained for too long in a bad job. They should never have allowed that to happen, as your health is more important than any job you hold. So, quit when you have a bad boss!
What happens when people resign?
It is not known how many people voluntarily quit their jobs each year. Something is known about the people who intend to do this: according to research 60 percent of Western European millennials expect to quit the job 
within five years. They then want to work at another company or they will do other things.
When you quit
People who give up their jobs are confronted with all kinds of emotions. One expert investigates dismissal and compares it to ending a relationship. “Employees have emotional ties with each other and are cut off when a person leaves the company.”
Dismissal involves uncertainty, not only in terms of money and future prospects. ‘An employee who resigns must take all kinds of decisions for which there are no official guidelines. For example how and when I tell my boss or my colleagues. You have to find out for yourself what the standards of the company are. “
Balance of power
If the employee quits his job, the balance of power changes. ‘You depend on your employer for your salary. That will change if you have a different job in mind or have plans to travel the world. ” This makes it easier for employees who leave to let annoyances slip away.
Although resigning seems a good solution, after a while there is unrest. ‘Research shows that at the end of sabbaticals the real world is knocking on the door again. Moreover, looking for a job is an uncertain and terrifying process. “
Yet both Bonny and Ann would do it again. Bonny: ‘Now I notice the impact of my job on the family. It is wonderful not to rush and organize for a few months. You should actually take a period every seven years to catch your breath.”
What if resigning is not that easy?
For Bonny and Ann quitting was relatively easy in their positions. But what if you are the provider, with a family to take care of, bills to pay. Maybe you might want to stay in a job you know will make you feel miserable. This is a short term solution to an issue that will not go away.
Long term strategy
I am now coming back to Jordan Peterson’s words that you will then need to develop a long term strategy. Firstly, by getting to know yourself, finding out what you really want, how you want to stand in life towards your partner and kids. Then you will have to set goals and pursue them, bearing in mind that it might take years to achieve what you really want. But boy, would it not be nice to do such a thing and see yourself coming nearer to these goals?
Escape route
Nowadays we live in times that there is no long-term job security anymore, at least not permanently. This is the reason that Jordan Peterson suggested that anybody with a job has some form of an escape route for when things go pear shaped at work. I am going to give you one such escape route here under.
Becoming your own boss next to your current job!
Yes you read it right, you can work on having your own business, starting it next to your regular job and making some extra money. This is made possible by the limitless possibilities the internet currently provides. The one I am talking about is to start your own website, (believe me, anybody can do it with the right support) and based on your passions, hobbies and interests, you will start promoting products in the market. You do not need to buy them or hold stock, you just sell them and receive commissions. This is called affiliate marketing and I am one of the many who already have pursued a career as a full-time Affiliate Marketer.
Take action here!
As I said, you will need excellent guidance and support and I happen to know one of the best internet business support programs that are nowadays around and of which I am a yearlong member. Guaranteed scam free, this is a very reasonably priced program, all details of which I have described in my personal review, which you can access here.
Through this review I will provide with a link to get a free membership for one week, so that you will have the possibility to see how it works firsthand. This is without any commitment whatsoever, from your side. A unique opportunity for you to, in the end, escape the corporate jungle.
I think so many people are stuck in that trap that the government puts you in when you are in school. The whole idea that you have to go to college or university right out of school. Then you end up stuck in a career because you already spent a bunch of money on it.
I have had some jobs that I really enjoyed, but my latest job was a nightmare and I could not wait to get away. I encourage everyone to really think about what they want and then go after it. Life is too short to be stuck doing something meaningless “just because”.
You are so right, yet unfortunately the reality for most of us is quite different. Nevertheless, as you said, people have a duty to think for themselves to find out what it is they really want and then work towards it. In principle this could work for anybody, but it has to start with oneself.
Thanks for sharing with us some experience of people who quitted jobs. I quitted my jobs 5 years ago, doing my own business. I am glad that I made this decision at that time. I agree with you that before you quit your job, you need to have a long term and you have to set clear goals. Otherwise, it’s really too risky.
Good for you having your own business and daring to do so quitting your job. I wish more people would follow your example.
Great article and it has truth in it. The power comes from yourself, and nobody else. If you believe in it, you can do it. I changed my job twice already, and always for the better, and no, it wasn’t easy to get it, but I did it. So, never let down, and lways go for it.
You were right to change jobs if you would not get the best out of them or when you do not get along with your boss. You also said that it wasn’t easy, but you still got a better position. You are a good example to follow for other people.