Don’t quit in the middle.
A message from the middle: don’t quit too soon.
(Note: this is one of those blog posts where I seem to be advising you, but I’m really just reminding myself. Thanks for listening :)
Have you ever looked at your clock at 11am, certain that it must be almost bed time?
That’s been a big feature of my life these past few months.
Moving to NY and building a life here has been flippin’ exhausting! Like “go to bed at 4pm on a Saturday” kind of exhausting. I’ve spend the winter months devouring books and Netflix much more than having the “New York experience”.
I’m in the middle of building stuff. As anyone who’s ever built anything knows, there’s a long (looong) drudgery phase. The work is exhausting and never ending. The uncertainty is pervasive and exacerbated by financial pressures. You’re teetering around the edges of failure, and peddling desperately to outrun it.
We (in this entrepreneurial sphere) say so, read the articles and commit to more “self-care”. And yet, I always imagine that my meltdowns and craziness are unique.
If you’re in the middle right now, DON’T QUIT YET!
If you’re overwhelmed with stuff and unsure about the way forward, you’re not alone. (I’m there too.) If you feel like quitting, you can. If it feels like you’re on the wrong path, you should quit. But if it feels like the icky mid-creation, gunky idea-gestation growth phase, you should try to stick it out. Because, truly, the best is yet to come.
It’s impossible to see the landscape clearly from the “building” vantage point. It’s time to put your head down, work hard and grind towards the dawn. Sometimes, you will quit. Because it’s too hard, or because it feels intuitively off. But, in general, it’s best not to quit in the middle. The only way through it is, well, through it. It’s like swamp land. You gotta plod through.
Tap into your entrepreneurial stamina. Dig deep to find the determination. Then, put your ass in the chair and work.
While this is theoretically sound advice, the practical application is HARD.
So while you’re building, make it as easy for yourself as possible.
For me, this means:
My favourite new practice: Plot out my week, and then actively decide what I’m NOT going to do & delete it.
Staying off the internet (I love it here, but it’s loud and makes my head fuzzy!)
Lots of (legal) stimulants Escapism via great TV, books & movies.
Weekends off (It’s not always possible, but I aim for it!) Leaving the house most days Take-out (Seamless, baby!) A limited amount of “planning” (which is really just another form of stressing for me)
Early to bed & a pre-sunrise alarm for some Clare-time before the work day starts
Limiting the decisions I have to make (Wearing the same pair of jeans and heels. The same breakfast of eggs, avocado and wholewheat toast everyday) Guilt-free resting, ‘doing nothing’ time and occasionally, a little meditation.
Don’t quit in the middle.
Thanks to Jenny Blake who uttered the magic words: “you should write a blog post about that.”
