QUIT: THE POWER OF KNOWING WHEN TO WALK AWAY
ANNIE DUKE
© 2022 Penguin Portfolio
$27.00
336 pages

Quitters never win, quit the process and you're quitting the result, nobody said it would be easy, blah blah blah.

We've all heard those sayings before, but, says author Annie Duke in Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, believe it or not, a premature ending can be the best thing that could happen. Sometimes... but not always. It truly depends.

Knowing when to quit, she says, is an important life skill, but it's not as glamorous as stick-to-it-iveness. People tend to remember those who persevere, no matter the outcome, but they don't generally remember those who get off the merry-go-round before the music stops. If she was going to teach someone to make better decisions, she says, "quitting is the primary skill" she'd pick. "Trying something and having the ability to quit is vital to how we all live our lives."

So how do you know when it's time to stop the foolishness?

Learn to reframe your decisions to determine whether it's better to stay or go; if it's a close call, the latter's probably the better option. Remember that public opinion isn't always right. Quit when you're ahead if the future looks bleak, and be aware of a nasty phenomenon called "loss aversion." Also watch for "sunk cost," which can cause you to continue, because you think things just have to get better eventually. They won't.

Set a list of "kill criteria" before embarking on a project. Don't be too optimistic. And remember that there'll always be times when the choice to quit is yours, and times when "the world makes the choice for you."

In the last almost-three years, you've probably asked yourself a dozen times why. You don't need a subject, sometimes "why" is the entire question — and "quit" is the answer.

It's not an easy one, though. Duke breaks the dilemma down in four sections that help readers learn how to make the right decision, and that empower them to take a possibly unpopular action. These are hefty sections, too, with meaty words for you and for your too-loud, often-wrong inner naysayer.

The lessons imparted are ones we all need to understand fully, but they're not the only things you'll find in this book. Duke bolsters her advice with pertinent anecdotes that are entertaining, even if you're not in need of a coin to flip any time soon.

Read this book for that amusement or, if you need to know how to do the right thing at what looks like the wrong time, read it for instruction. Either way, Quit is good, full stop.