The Keys of Knowing When to Quit: “The Dip” by Seth Godin Review

By Rey Banuelos 
KTSW Guest Writer

A few months ago, I was unhappy with my job and relationship. For many, we are told to never quit when we are facing some sort of hardship and that if we continue to push through, we will make progress. However, I found that this is only true in a few situations.

There are many circumstances where pushing through would not have a great impact on our future selves. I recently came across a book called “The Dip” by Seth Godin that gave me a new outlook on quitting.

Seth Godin’s book discusses the concept of “smart quitting.” The concept of “smart quitting” is to challenge the common assumption that quitting is bad. Many of us have stayed a part of something for too long, only to find ourselves unsatisfied and unproductive. Quitters who quit in moments of panic, or when things are out their control, are only hurting themselves. The most valuable commodity a human has is time.

Many of us, tend to focus too much on the short-term gains versus the long-term losses. This was true for me when I was working at a fine-dining restaurant, I would focus on the thousand-dollar weekends and neglect my mental well-being. I was putting more value on money instead of spending time with friends and maintaining a relationship. I should have been strategically planning an exit.

Strategic quitting is what Seth Godin likes to call the “dip”. The dip is when our behavior has become unproductive but hard to change. We must know when to quit or stick with things. When starting a new job or project, it might seem full of possibilities, but to truly be successful we need to know whether it is worth it at the beginning.

We must prepare an exit strategy to know the signs of when it’s time to quit. From my experience, working 20-hour weekends at a part-time job is not equal to the benefit of taking a trip to a networking conference.

The project’s worth chasing are inevitably going to have their drawbacks, but the point is to continue chasing them. The goal is to create something that has quality and longevity rather than fulfilling superficial needs. Seth Godin describes pursuing an accomplishment requires someone to aim for the best in the world.

The ‘best’ does not mean the global audience, but can be local or niche markets. As someone who wants to be a successful entrepreneur, I want to create the best services for my future clients.

I read this book to better understand the signs of when it’s time to quit. As a student, I push myself too hard at times, only to not see the results. The main point Seth Godin wants to share is that there is a key difference between productivity and staying busy. We need to learn that quitting is not wrong and to do things at our own pace. 

Featured illustration by Rey Banuelos via Canva.