Life is a grind for most people. A string of compromises. Sometimes we put ourselves in situations where we are required to compromise more than we can stand. It seems like it happens "all of a sudden" - but when we continue in an a situation where we are making enormous compromises - we get enormously stressed and eventually break down.
It's normal of course to have some stress in our lives. Everything we selfishly want as entrepreneurs and humans comes at a price. Sometimes that price is comfort, finances or time. Other times is something entirely different - sometimes the costs are too high to bear.
I was in a bad business partnership once. A common complaint in a partnership is one person feeling like they do more than another. My partner had another (more demanding) business to run - which meant I did 99% of the work for half the money. I would have continued in the unbalanced partnership but he couldn't do his 1% of the business properly - which started to make me look bad. The compromises I was making to continue in that partnership began affecting my personal relationships and it started to take a physical toll. So I quit.
I like to talk about the grind and sticking through the bad - but there's a difference between "the bad" and the bad. If what you are doing is negatively affecting you because of bad stress - get rid of it. If you are stressed because you have too many ideas and not enough time - or too many orders to fill and not enough staff - that's when you push through it - that stress is exciting and fun. If you are an entrepreneur in particular - and you begin to hate the situation you are in - you have to change it. Our most precious commodities in this life are our bodies and our time and if either are suffering because "you've had enough" - its our responsibility to change.
As you mature in business you learn to relax a bit - you don't freak out over every little thing - you don't get coaxed into arguments. There are some situations however that we cant acclimatize too. In hindsight its easy to see when we were involved in situations that were detrimental - but usually when we are in them we can't see every angle. Trust your body - if your body is telling you that you should be doing something else - you probably should be doing something else. You can't sheild yourself entirely from getting to the point where you have "had enough" - but you can learn to recognize the signs earlier which will hopefully save you from wasting anymore time. Guys like Steve Jobs would hang up the phone when they were bored because they didn't want to waste any of their time. The average entrepreneur doesn't have to go that far - but they should never fear cutting the safety cord and quitting something draining.
Know when you've had enough - do yourself a favor - and quit.
Ryan Geddes is a writer and entreprenuer located in Toronto Canada. When he's not writing, hes helping with House&Canvas Furniture Paint.
