A while back, I had the dreaded feeling that I needed to quit a freelance marketing position that I had outgrown. I truly felt like I had given everything I had to give, and my energy and interest in the work completely disappeared. I started to feel extreme resistance to doing the work—to the point where I felt like my brain was shutting off or my eyes were closing when it was time to do it. And worst of all—I started talking shit about it. Everything that I didn’t like about it felt magnified, and I was mentally rehearsing why the work was pointless anyway. It’s funny how, when things have run their course, our inclination is to blame them and make an excuse for why it’s not a good fit anymore, instead of just treasuring the lessons and growth that they brought us.

I didn’t realize I needed to quit until I was talking to my amazing spiritual guide/coach, Theresia (I’m not sure what to call her, but she has completely changed my life!)—and she asked me a simple question: Did I want to continue? The answer was obviously no, but instead of answering, I came up with all these justifications for why I would do it anyway—it wasn’t a huge lift, I liked the coworkers, it was good money—but she just laughed at me and said, “But do you want to do it?” The answer was no.

Now the fear and the excuses arose: When is the right time to quit? With how much notice? What will they do without me? I feel bad for leaving them hanging! What do I say? Am I really ready to let go of this income? What if I never get a client that pays this much again? I already feel anxious and start rehearsing the conversation in my head.

After a lot of meditating (read: overthinking) on it—I finally decided to be honest. I told the client I had loved working with them, but the place I enjoyed and shined most was in launching their brand, and I was ready to pass the baton to someone who was interested in scaling the brand. As the universe (my mom says “we don’t believe in luck”) would have it, we had already been talking to someone who had relevant experience, loved the work, and WANTED to do the job. If I had continued on when I wasn’t feeling it, I would have robbed this woman of an aligned opportunity… how about that!?

Now I knew it was the right thing… but STILL… FEAR. Am I just going to give up this income? But the universe was laughing again, because after making all this space, I was able to invest more in my social life, Pilates teacher training, and met a new, 100% aligned client who needed me and replaced the income. PROOF that when you let go of what’s not serving you, you make space for something that you would actually LOVE. It’s WAY too often that we forget this and clog up our time and energy with misaligned activities because we are afraid of what is in the space between. I’ve been thinking about this as letting go of one monkey bar and trusting that the next one is there in front of you.

I share this for anyone who has that sinking feeling that it’s time to quit, let go of something, break up—but they are afraid. Ask yourself, “Do I even want this?” Honor your desires; they are your inner compass to joy. And I promise you, just like my story, if you let go of what’s not lighting you up, you’ll be one step closer to finding that thing that does.

4 Signs It Might Be Time to Quit (even if you’re scared to admit it)

✽ You’ve outgrown it
You’ve given it everything you had, and now your energy and interest are just… gone. What used to light you up now feels like a total drain.

✽ You’re feeling major resistance
Every time you sit down to do the work, your brain shuts off or your eyes start closing. It’s like your whole body is saying, “Nope.”

✽ You’re low-key (or high-key) talking shit
Suddenly everything that bugs you about it feels magnified. You’re rehearsing all the reasons it’s pointless, and you don’t even want to care anymore.

✽ You’re making excuses instead of being honest
You tell yourself you’re staying because it’s easy, pays well, or the people are nice—but deep down, if you ask yourself “Do I even want this?” the answer is a clear (and maybe scary) no.

What do you need to quit, let go of or break up with?? This is your sign to do it.

★ Thanks for reading :) I’m here to help you on your self-employed journey. To start making money, grab my e-course How to Go Freelance or book a 1:1 Office Hours session where we can dig into your dreams and goals. Follow me on TikTok, Instagram, and shop my WFH Essentials here.