Having seen Aerosmith during the Steven Tyler drug years, news that Tyler fell off the stage in Toronto on Tuesday wasn’t a big shocker. However, according to media reports and the highly credible TMZ, speculation is rampant that Tyler was intentionally shoved off the stage by his long-time band mate, Joe Perry. Band break up rumours have been rampant for years, which got us thinking about how do you know “when it’s time to go”?
During any work “gig”, there may come a time when you’re just not feeling the love any more. And, staying too long when you’re frustrated and disengaged isn’t a smart career move. It’s never pretty when disengaged people over stay their welcome on the job front. Afterall, who wants the title “dead wood” hanging around their necks?
Here are a few signs that maybe it’s time for you to exit stage left:
- Everyone is irritating… a sure sign that you need to move on is when you find every person in the company is rubbing you the wrong way. It’s doubtful they’ve all changed. It’s probably you. Double red flag if you find yourself fantasizing about pushing any of them off a stage or under a bus.
- You have the Friday night blues… instead of looking forward to the weekend, Friday’s are just a cruel prelude to the return to Monday morning.
- You can’t remember the last time you enjoyed anything you did between 9 and 5
- You’ve been pigeon-holed… if you’re getting repeatedly being frustrated by lack of opportunities internally, no matter what you do, move on.
- Your manager can’t handle you… if your highly talented, the reality is that a weak manager may not know what to do with you. Lots of people don’t know how to manage high performers. Find a manager that does.
- You’re health is suffering… you’re not making it to the gym, your consuming too many glasses wine and the remote has become your new best friend. No job is worth sacrificing your health over.
There’s a definite difference between a career dip, burnout and really being ready to move on. Above all, never make decisions to quit in the heat of the moment. As one of our Roundtable for Leaders’ members wisely said “it’s better to run too something that to run away from something.”
Get the support you need to make this crucial career decision. Switching jobs mid-career isn’t always easy, but staying in one that’s soul destroying is a far worse punishment. Life is too short to not enjoy what you’re doing.
What are you thoughts on signs that it’s time to quit?
Happy leading!
RoundtableTalk 
Couldnt agree more, back to 1989, better times:
http://wallernotweller.wordpress.com/1983-top-40-best-singles-2/1989-top-40-singles-11-20/
Two sure signs for me: personal goals become way more important than paying the mortgage (not necessarily a bad thing, but you still have to keep a roof over your head!) – eg. “I’m studying tai chi and work is getting in the way; I hate it, therefore I’ll do the very minimum to get by and I really don’t care if I get caught” = “I no longer enjoy what I do for a living so need to find something in my personal time to overcompensate, as I don’t have enough guts/energy/inspiration to quit…”
Second: “Life would be so much better if I could just (fill in the blank) eg. be a barista at Starbucks (yeah, that’s an ideal job); dig ditches; start an organic chick pea farm, go to art school… etc.”
Time to go!
Too true, too true. Although I’ve been thinking that if the money’s substantial maybe we should try to adopt a “work to live” attitude vs needing to be “fulfilled”. I’ve started wondering if our generation is too namby pamby when it comes to just “sucking it up”. Are we all under the misguided impression that in order to be happy at work we need to be in a perpetual state of bliss?? I doubt my coal mining granddad was skipping down the mines every morning. Thanks for getting me thinking this morning!
Yes, but was your granddad self-actualized like we are? 🙂