A Quick Background Story

Few years ago, I had just graduated from high school and I had plans of furthering my education but I didn't make it into the university the first time I applied. The second time, I didn't make it so I decided to look for a job. I was feeling lonely because my friends were lucky to be admitted and they resumed classes. Everyone got busy with their lives so I decided to do something for myself. I was below the age of 18 which is the legal age for any citizen to gain employment in Nigeria. I had the privilege of being acquainted with the managers so I was employed despite my age.

Disclaimer: I wasn't favoured because of my relationship with the managers, I wrote exams like other applicants and went through all the interviews. I was employed on merit.

When I started working, I had no idea of what it meant to be a teacher. (I applied at a school). I applied for the position of a classroom assistant but my job description changed after I was employed. I became a cleaner, school bus attendant, messenger… The workload was too much. I was the first to resume work daily and the last person to retire at the end of the day and the pay was extremely poor too and my boss wasn't very easy to work for. There was barely gratitude for the good things I did but I sure heard lots of complaints and criticism. It was draining! I was losing weight, always exhausted...Yet I stayed. About 2 ½ years later I quit and nothing anyone said could keep me. Thankfully, as I did quit, I went straight into the University.

Even though before this moment, a lot of people had adviced me to quit but I refused and when I was ready to quit no one could stop me. This is because I knew my elastic limit and I had reached it. Below are a few opinions of mine on what decides when to quit.

When there's no reason to keep on

From my story, I didn't quit when others told me to because I had my reason for being there. I wanted to learn. It was one of the best private schools in my city and I knew the exposure and experience would do me some good so despite the burdensome work, I kept going. I went to school daily with my fried groundnuts and I kept it at the school's canteen to be sold. Weekly, my money was given to me when it's all sold out so that was a plus for me. When I finally decided to quit, it was because I had learned enough. I went in there as a novice but resigned as one of the best assistants and a great children's teacher too. So I feel it's okay to quit if there's no more reason to keep on. Do not waste your time.

When there's a threat to life

It is said that wherever there is life there's hope. Many people look forward to achieving lots of material things in life but what is of uttermost importance is life. If you are not living, there's really no essence of going through all that we may be going through. Why work hard and not even live to enjoy your hard work? So once there's a threat to my life, safety ain't guaranteed, I believe it's my cue to quit.

When you are not optimistic about the outcome of the situation no matter what angle you look at it

Somehow I believe that guts don't lie. No matter how bad a situation might be I can always tell if it will get better or not. I could be wrong atimes. Let's say I'm in a relationship and right now it's sour because my partner isn't doing well financially. Personally, I can tell if he will get better because I can see he has something to do which is of relevance. Maybe he probably doesn't have the connection to get great contracts but the possibility of it happening is there so I can stay with him, I can support him.

But if my man has nothing to do, is not positive and doesn't have confidence in himself then I can clearly see that I'm with a lazy man who isn't Willing to work on himself. Clearly there's no hope of things getting better, I can decide to quit because I can see the signs.

When you're putting all the work in something that involves other people

There's a reason why there's something we call "team". It means different people coming together to achieve a common goal. I don't see a reason why something that will be beneficial to a lot of other people would be left for one person. I know it's time to quit when I'm making all the efforts, carrying all the burden, trying to solve all the problems that should be a concern for a lot of other people.

In summary: Quitting can be difficult as we never know what the future holds. There's always a voice telling you "what if you quit today and it gets better tomorrow"? The confusion can be depressing but these are a few factors I believe are reasons enough to quit. It's okay to ask yourself really critical questions like why you're quitting and be sure to be honest with yourself concerning your response. Trust me you'll feel a certain kind of peace when your reasons are right.

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