Deepak Malhotra, a Professor in the Negotiations, Organizations and Markets Unit at the Harvard Business School had some really interesting things to say about quitting: “Quit early. Quit often. Be the best quitter you know.” “I’m not saying quit something because it’s hard. I’m telling you to quit something because it sucks. It’s just not for you. It may be for everyone sitting near to you, but it’s not for you.”

Sometimes quitting is the right thing to do, sometimes it’s the only thing to do. We don’t have to finish everything we started, and it’s better to leave things behind, so we can start over or move in a new direction if we want a shot at true happiness.

1. QUIT the job you hate. Or the job you’ve been in for years and you see no sign of progress or appreciation whatsoever. It’s easier than you think to find something you are more excited about, and it is easier than you think to start a new career or find someone who believes in your talents and is willing to give you a fair chance.

2. QUIT making excuses for the mediocrity of your life. Stop yourself from believing that we are born to settle. Or that the circumstances are stronger than us. We think we are doing ourselves a favor when we convince ourselves to be content with settling, and accepting the life we are not so fond of. Greatness comes from taking risks, from trying harder, from taking a leap of faith, from the moment you stop making excuses for living a mediocre life.

3. QUIT the uncertainty of love. Quit your toxic relationship; either the one that you are currently in that’s making you miserable, or the one that you can’t define or even know what your role is. Take your time to heal if you will suffer without it, cry day and night alone if you have to, but quit it, end it, terminate it, and demolish it.

4. QUIT the friends that belittle you. The ones that keep bringing you down, the ones who don’t bring forth your radiance, the ones who can’t get themselves to speak highly of you. The ones that keep pointing out your insecurities. Quit the extra weight they make you carry, quit the extra heaviness they bring to your heart.

5. QUIT the city that you no longer belong in. Where nothing ever changes, and you’ve been to every corner. Where everyone knows who you are. The city that has left you bruised & damaged too many times. Quit it-start over in a new city, leave the painful memories behind and take a chance to reinvent yourself.

6. QUIT saying yes when you want to say no. Quit putting your health & well-being on the line because you don’t want to upset people. Quit feeling the need to show up to every occasion you are invited to. Quit giving in to peer pressure or family pressure. Say No more often and see   how slowly it will change your life around.

7. QUIT the way you worry so much about what others think. Quit shaping your actions to please them, quit living by their approval. Quit how you think of their words every night before you go to sleep, quit believing that they know you better than you know yourself.

8. QUIT your past. You don’t live there anymore, and it doesn’t have to haunt you every time you try to move on. Quit the past failures, the past mistakes, the past disgrace, the past that didn’t really represent you.

9. QUIT lying to yourself. Your gut knows what you should and shouldn’t quit. Your heart knows when the right time to quit is. Your mind knows that you will be fine if you quit. So quit telling yourself that you can’t quit, and quit telling yourself that quitting is a bad thing. If you look closely, quitting may be your saving grace.