I’ve written before about the value of quitting. Sure, not all quitting is good. But particularly for high school students, the idea that you should diligently plod ahead at all costs no matter how tired, frustrated or just plain unhappy something makes you is just not a good strategy for college admissions or for life.
There are also some people a lot smarter than me who agree. This past post points to a few authors, one of whom is a professor at Stanford business school, who recognize the value of strategic quitting. And the Freakonomics guys have a podcast, as well as a chapter in their new book about what they call “the upside of quitting.”
Disclaimer: Given that much of what I write here is aimed at high school kids and their parents, I should mention that the first five minutes of the podcast share the story of a 25-year-old who quit her computer programming job at a fortune 500 company to become a high-priced call girl. Don’t let it throw you. (Yes, ironically, I’m advising you not to quit). It’s a short snippet and not the point of their over-arching message.