Sometimes you have to quit

"Never give up, but know when to quit." - Unknown

Recently (finally) watched Up In the Air. There's a line in the movie that got me thinking - "At what point were you going to stop and go back to what made you happy?"

It also reminded me of a line from a Friends episode: The One Where Rachel Quits - "As long as you got this job, you’ve got nothing pushing you to get another one. You need the fear...if you quit this job, you then have motivation to go after a job you really want.

Lately, we've been hearing about people quitting their jobs with flair. Maybe if I had quit with flair, I would've gotten my 15 minutes of fame, and landed another job! All joking aside, why did I quit a perfectly stable job that I was good at and was well liked. It all came down to what makes me happy. It wasn't that I was UNhappy, I was just NOT happy. I didn't look forward to going into work and dealing with the same things over and over. Part of the reason I was good at my job, was because I had my routine down to the minute. I could do it in my sleep. I walked into work five days a week and did the same exact thing 8, sometimes even 10 hours a day. I was bored, unmotivated, and unchallenged. It left me unfulfilled. 

I worked there part-time while going to school for my undergrad. After I graduated and while looking for full-time work, I got the opportunity to intern at a radio station. It was unpaid and I was no longer in school so I didn't even get credit for it, but I LOVED the work I did there. I was happy! I actually looked forward to it! I stayed for over a year hoping to get employed, unfortunately it went out of business. My experience at the radio station finally helped me decide what I wanted to do when I grow up. 

In the meantime, I had the chance to make my part-time job into a full-time job. I had nothing else lined up, so I took it, plus it gave me health insurance. I always planned on getting a Master's degree and after a few setbacks, I finally decided go for a MBA. I worked full-time in the days and went to school part-time in the evenings. After two years I had a MBA to my name and quit my job a week later. Don't worry I gave them plenty of notice, like six months notice. They knew when I finished school I would be leaving. I might have stayed if I had anywhere to go, but working for a small office where was no room for growth, no promotions, and no salary increase, wasn't doing it for me anymore.

Almost two years has gone by and I still don't have a job. Was I naive in thinking just because I had a MBA to my name I would be getting job offers left and right? A little. Did I think that my job experience, education and passion would land me my dream job? Of course. Do I regret quitting? Not at all! Quitting my job gave me "the fear" and the motivation to go after what makes me happy and I'm not giving up until I find it! 

Do you need "the fear?" Are you doing what makes you happy?