Ruthlessness
Staying too long is nearly always as bad as quitting too early. In my life, especially my career, there have been many situations where I feel I have stayed too long. Be it quitting a role I am not enjoying, quitting a company when my intended objective ( and those of the company is achieved), or staying with a project too long hoping to turn it around. It never really works. Most of the time, one always leaves as the guy closing out the lights.
So why do I stay too long? It is a combination of factors. Sometimes it is related to the prestige of the brand or job. “I worked so hard to get it, people perceive it as a great brand, I would be a fool to leave it”. Other times it is about - “what would the people around me think, that I am leaving them alone”. There is also the element of trying to meet others’ expectations - either returns to the people who believed in you, invested in you, or gave their time for you.
However, I don’t think anybody cares. We delude ourselves into thinking that we are the center of the universe and our actions are constantly watched. People do not think about you. Everybody thinks about their own position, own life, and own path. Sometimes our paths meet and we journey together. However, it is the nature of paths that they diverge. If you do not take yours, the only one reaching the destination late would be you.
And hence, it is always better to be ruthless and to dispassionately evaluate the situation. At every point we should ask the following -
What is the value I am adding by staying in?
What is the value that is being added to me?
How passionate I am about this situation?
What are my goals and how does staying in or out achieve them?
There would be short-term pain. Even some bridges burnt, but it would be better - for you, for the situation and for others. Always be rational, evaluate other points and act fast! It is never good to stay too long.
Always be ruthless!
