We all can attest that there are times when we find ourselves in an impossible situation, and the only way out is to recognize that this isn't working, and then start afresh. This may sound so easy to do, but it actually require lots of maturity to recognize times like that and act accordingly.
There are majorly three reasons why people continue with a thing, although it's very clear that it is an impossible situation. The reasons are:
- Fear of being called a failure.
- Fear of starting afresh
- Fear of losing all that you have invested.
If you are worried of being called a failure, then you need to realize that if you hold on today because of the fear of being called a failure, and in the future, what you are holding on to still fails, people will still call you a failure. At that point you in the future, you will realise that people's opinion do not matter, and while you have held on for their approval, you have wasted years or months of your life.
Are you scared of starting afresh? Or still holding because of how much time, energy and resources you have invested into the project, you need to realize that starting afresh may be better than holding on or investing more into it. Just imagine having a dirty cup with some mud inside it. No matter the amount of clean water you pour into the dirty cup, you can't drink from it. The same thing applies when you keep investing your time, energy and resources in a wrong investment.
I remember few years ago, I was invited by a student Union leader to join a multi-level level business. As of that time, I didn't know it was a multi-level business, because she told me that I was coming for a job interview.
When I began the business proper, I was given lots of promises. They said things I can achieve in the business includes, a trip to Mauritius, a car, a house and a life time incentive. According to them, all I needed to do was invite 3 or 4 persons, and then buy supplements until I become a director or a Sapphire in the multi-level business.
Then I was still in my 4th year in the University, and since I worked all through school, I has saved up to $800. So I spoke with the person who introduced me into the business after which I paid $800 to buy enough supplement that will accumulate me enough points to become a director. When I did, I was told by the branch boss that that was the last payment I will make in the business.
After 4 months of dedication and selling supplements, I realized that they expected me to still make a monthly payment of $60, if not I won't qualify for my monthly earnings. As if that wasn't enough, they still insisted that everyone under me must have accumulated 4000 points in that particular month from buying of the supplement. I was devastated.
I didn't know what to do, my friends all knew I was into the business. A friend of mine who warned me not to invest more into the business reminded me of the advice he gave me earlier. It was a painful experience. I stopped coming for their weekly seminars for a week or two, then I began to recieve calls from members of the organization, who used those two motivation quotes I mentioned earlier while encouraging me. One of them even said, if I quit am a failure.
All the things they said wasn't any worry to me. What was my major concern was how much I have invested into the business. It was so much. I was about to begin my 5th year in the University with no money to pay for my needs. I had the option to still hold on, so that people won't see me as a failure, or at least for the sake of my investment.
I knew i was going to lose everything if I quit at that point, but I had to tell myself the truth that it wasn't profitable for me to hold on anymore. I had to let it go and start afresh. From then on, I began to hold tutorial classes. It was from my earning whilst doing the tutorial that I began to recover all that I lost.
I also had to work twice than I did before I went into that wrong investment. It wasn't easy then, but looking back now, am glad I quit when I did. One of my team members wasn't as fortunate as I was. He held on strongly, mostly due to what people would say. He finally let go in 2021, and his life then was no different than when he started in 2018.
Although it's a painful one, this singular event thought me two valuable lessons: "It's never too late to make a U-turn" and "The progress and the sacrifices you make on a wrong track can never make it right". I'm glad I got to learn these lessons so early in life.
In conclusion, always remind yourself that there is no shame in quitting something that isn't profitable and starting afresh. If your heart is telling you that is not gainful, don't hold on and keep on waiting for it to get better. It may likely not.
It is advisable that you call yourself to a meeting, admit to yourself that you have done everything you can to make it work, yet it hasn't. Don't go ahead feeling sorry for yourself, neither should you let yourself drown in sorrows. That you decide to start afresh doesn't make you a failure, rather it is a sign that you are courageous. Let it go, try something new. I assure you, the next thing you will try will be a success. Cheers to that.