Quitting is sometimes the best thing. It opens us up to new paths.

https://hbr.org/2018/09/when-to-stick-with-something-and-when-to-quit

A final benefit of perseverance is that we don’t know when our luck will turn. A recent study of the careers of nearly 29,000 artists, filmmakers, and scientists found that most of them had a hot streak in their career when their work received wide acclaim. These hot streaks happened at a random time in their career, however. They weren’t related to age, experience, or even being more productive. They just happened. This suggests that if you’re thinking about quitting, you should remember a hot streak could be just around the corner.

Other research challenges these findings, however.

In fact, there’s a large body of work showing that perseverance may have a harmful downside. Not giving up can mean people persist even when they have nothing to gain.

Being unwilling to let go can lead to people being perpetually dissatisfied — even when they end up getting what they thought they wanted.

…Remaining fixated on long cherished goals can also mean people ignore better alternatives. A great example of this are baseball players on minor league teams. These players often receive low pay and have little job security, but live in hope of being spotted and making it into the major league. Only about 11% of players will make that transition. The other 90% are left languishing for years. If they stopped playing baseball, they would be more likely to find alternative employment which was more secure, paid more, and had a more defined career path. In sort, by remaining under the spell of their dream, they are unable to explore other options which might be more lucrative.

…So when you ask yourself whether to stick with a task or goal, or to let it go, weigh the potential to continue learning and developing incrementally against the costs, dangers, and myopia which can come with stubborn perseverance.

As Kenny Rogers sings, “you gotta know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.”

I did not walk away from full-time ministry voluntarily. But it did lead me, force me, to consider other vocational possibilities and I’m grateful for that. I would have persisted to the point of heart attack and beyond. And for what? An ungrateful congregation? or constant conflict between a mostly grateful congregation and a group of professional malcontents.