Job or Business?
This job or another one?
Job or sabbatical?
Part-time job or Full-time job?
If you are currently in a job and finding yourself asking these questions every now and then, it means you are wanting to quit our job. 
Every day, thousands of people wake up to these questions. As they get ready to leave for their jobs, they go through this dilemma. Some of them simply hate the job that they are doing while others want to be the boss of their own company and offer jobs to other people. Some may be simply feeling stuck in the current job profile, looking for an improvement like increase in pay package or a promotion.
While this dilemma about your job can be frustrating and you may want to quit it every day, here are a few things that you must remember before you take the final decision.
- That trigger may be temporary
A lot of people take a serious decision like quitting their job triggered by a temporary state of mind. Such a sudden decision is often driven by some emotion resulting from an uncomfortable or unfavorable situation at job. It could be a conflict of opinion with a boss or a fellow worker or even a simple situation where one felt humiliated. Identify the trigger, give it some time to wane off before you take a major decision like quitting your job. In such cases, time is the only factor that helps you take the right decision.
- Something is better than nothing
If you are quitting your job because of your current pay package, make sure that you are not jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. I cannot emphasize enough on the importance of having some financial planning before you choose to bid adieu to your current job, especially if you are intending to start a new business that may have its own gestation period. The planning must be even more fool proof if you intend to take a sabbatical from job. It is better to have some job than have none at all, if you do not have the financial security that can sustain you when you are out of job. Period.
- People are the same everywhere
Do you hate your job or do you hate the people? If you are planning to quit your job because you are done with the rude boss or that unfriendly co-worker, remember, human nature is the same everywhere. In your new job too, there could be people whom you may not like. And if your utopian dream is to quit this job to become the boss in your own business, wait till you start handling your own vendors and clients.
- Relax, don’t resent.
The way you approach your job makes a huge difference in how you feel about it. Your current job doesn’t have to be your reality forever, but that doesn’t mean you have to hate it while you are at it. If you have bigger goals, then certainly work for it. Constantly resenting the job in hand, may not be the motivation that you need to focus on your bigger aspirations. Quitting your job right away and compromising your financial security may also put you on a shaky ground. Keeping a positive approach while hustling alongside your current job is just the balance that you need to strike.
- Explore, but don’t experiment.
It’s perfectly okay to not feel too good about your current job. If you are bored with your job profile or you are looking for a better pay package or designation, you may want to quit this job ASAP. In such a case, explore the alternatives, look for other options and make the shift once you have calculated the risks and opportunities. The biggest mistake one can make is trying to experiment in one job after another, because there is no such thing as the perfect job. Only a perfect approach can make an average job feel great.
- Recognition is necessary, but…
Your job could be offering you a good pay package, your job role could be as per your liking, yet you may want to quit or change your job. Is this because you are feeling unrecognized? If yes, I want you to pause and answer a question. Are you ensuring that you are making your efforts visible? If you are too shy to let your efforts be known, your share of the pie can be eaten away by that over-enthusiastic colleague who likes to hog the limelight. If this is your reason to quit your job, then you are likely to face the same problem in another job too. It’s better to announce your efforts in your present job than switch jobs, hoping that someone, somewhere, some day would give you your worth.
- Recognize your weaknesses
A good number of people, who quit their jobs to become entrepreneurs or to be self-employed, take the leap of faith based on their strengths. They calculate what they have and what they could use to their benefit to succeed in their businesses. Seldom do they take into account their weaknesses and try to calculate the risks accordingly. Result: unforeseen setbacks leading to either demotivation or defeat. As business success coach Rajiv Talreja puts it, many people who are in jobs are made to feel inadequate by social media influencers who profess entrepreneurship. They are the ones to be blamed for job holders taking a plunge without analyzing the risks. Many quit their jobs for a rosy business, without realizing the challenges and the multiple, sometimes uncomfortable roles one may need to play. For example, a person shy of marketing should rather stick to a job than get into business, which requires hardcore marketing. So, before you bite the bait and quit a secured, well-paying job, recognize your weaknesses.
Everyone wants growth. Everyone needs financial security. These two can come from a job or a business, provided one enjoys what he is doing. While boredom, ambition or simple need for recognition can trigger the thought of wanting to quit your job, it is important to note that success is not dependent on the nature of your occupation. You can be a successful, happy employee and also run a business successfully. Yes, you read that right. I said AND, not OR. You can even have both, if you are ready to hustle.
So, before you decide to quit your current job to experience something new and good, remember, success is not a hat that only business-owners wear, neither it is a certificate that only few employees receive. It is a feeling that you can enjoy, whether you are in business or in a job, provided you have the right mindset.