Why You Need to Quit Self-Inflicted Obligations
Studies have shown that the human brain has a strong urge to finish tasks that we start.
We don’t like leaving things unfinished or partially done.
This is known as the Zeigarnik Effect.
Quitting is not the same as procrastinating or accepting defeat but a shift of priorities.
The only resource that we as humans have a limit of is time. Becoming a master at quitting frees us to pursue other things that we find interesting.
That’s why you need to make a pact to give up self-inflicted obligations.
As people, we feel obligated to do a lot of things that just don‘t matter.
For example:
finishing a book you‘re not enjoying ---> start a new book
baking a cake to bring to the office on your birthday ---> buy a cake
reply to emails that don‘t contribute to your goals ---> delete them immediately
going out with people that you don‘t like ---> say no and do something else
Rather than feeling that everything that‘s thrown your way is an obligation that you have to do, think of everything as a suggestion, that you can take it or leave it.
Time to quit.
I have quit all my life.
And that’s exactly what keeps me going forward. ;)