Should You Quit? Ask Yourself These 3 Questions Before You Do

Most of my life has been centered around playing the game of basketball.

For a long time, it was all I focused on. I lived it. I breathed it every day. It wasn't just a game for me – it was the way out.

So when I ultimately decided to quit playing and pivot into entrepreneurship, many people wondered what in the hell I was doing.

Admittedly, I did too.

I mean here I was, a professional athlete with an opportunity to travel the world and get paid to do what I love more than anything else.

Who would walk away from that?!

And still to this day, people ask me if I would ever go back overseas to play and I consistently stick to the same answer.

"Nope. I'm good."

And that's just the truth.

You see, whenever you contemplate walking away from something that has become your identity, you have to give it a lot of thought.

It's not a decision that can be made in a day, a week or even a month.

It might take you a very long time to come to a solid conclusion and even then you might find yourself going back and forth, wondering if you made the right choice or not.

This is exactly what happened to me when I stopped playing, but I learned to become comfortable with my decision by really asking myself 3 basic questions which I think can help anyone trying to decide whether to walk away from something or not.

If you're wondering whether you should quit something or not, ask yourself these 3 questions before you do:

1. Am I really happy and do I enjoy the process? You gotta first ask yourself, "Do I love the day to day grind?" The minute I stopped wanting to workout was the telltale sign that it was over for me. I remember going an entire week without practicing, lifting or doing anything basketball related just so I could rest. And after that week I felt fine. There was no urgency. There was no rush to get back to the gym. I quickly realized I wasn't infatuated with the daily process anymore. If you can go a week without doing "that thing," then it might be time to give it up because obviously, you won't have any success with it if you don't put in the work every day.
2. Is this conducive to the lifestyle I want to live? Playing basketball overseas is extremely unstable and inconsistent. You could be playing on one team one day and the next week you could be on a plane going to an entirely different country to play for another team. Contracts are breached all of the time and players can be sent home in a heartbeat. I didn't want to live this way for the next several years of my life. Coming from a smaller school I knew I would have to endure a lot of bullshit to work my way up the ranks so I asked myself, "Is it worth it?" Ultimately, I decided it wasn't. You have to know whether or not, what you're doing every day is equalling up to the life you want to live. At the end of the day, you create your own life. You are in the driver seat. If you don't take control and know what you want your life to look like on a daily basis, then someone else will decide and create it for you. Get extremely clear on the vision for your life so you know what you want out of it on a daily basis.
3. If I quit, what else could I be doing? The sad truth is that most people couldn't up and walk away from their job if they wanted to. They don't have any other options. No leverage or even a backup plan. When I walked away from basketball I didn't necessarily have everything laid out, but I had an idea of what I was headed towards. By the time I retired, I had published my first book, had been featured on a few publications and started to build my brand outside of basketball. Everything wasn't perfect, but I knew what direction I was going in. You could up and quit whatever it is your doing, but what are you going towards? Most athletes fail to transition seamlessly into life after sports because they don't have anything to walk towards. You have to have something else that you can fall back on. That's what keeps you motivated. That's what keeps you happy. 

Quitting Doesn't Make You A Failure...

Most people will tell you that if you quit something then you're a failure.

I say that if you quit, in most cases you’re just being self-aware and doing what's right for you.

Quitting on something takes a lot of heart in my opinion.

It takes a level of not giving a damn about what people think about you or your decisions.

It takes a ton of courage to know when to walk away from a situation whether that’s a job, relationship or anything else in life.

Most people don’t have the heart to quit and walk away so they continue doing something even though they hate doing it or even if they know it’s not for them.

They keep pursuing something because they're afraid of what people might say if they don't

When you let other people dictate what’s wrong or right for your life you can end up miserable and unfilled. 

At the end of the day, you're the only person who has to live with the consequences of your actions whether you decided to keep doing something or not.

No one else.

Life is all about making that decision right there. To do or not to do. 

That choice will decide the life you live long-term and it'll always be yours to make. 

Make sure you choose wisely and choose intentionally. 

I’ve created a list of the 15 most life-changing books that have helped me be successful in and out of sports. Get it right here.

Malcolm Lemmons is a former professional athlete turned entrepreneur and author. To check out more content, visit his website at www.malcolmlemmons.com.