The Freedom to Change Direction
by Nanci Bradley
Quitting has always carried a negative connotation.
When we think about people who quit, our minds can easily jump to assumptions that they are lazy, lack ambition, or simply couldn’t cope when things became difficult.
Somewhere along the way, quitting has become more than an action. It has become an indication of who we are.
To quit a job, leave a relationship, close a business or walk away from a situation can feel synonymous with giving up. And if we have given up, surely that means we have failed?
But what if it doesn’t?
A post I was reading online recently made me stop and think more deeply about this idea.
A divorce can be described as a “failed marriage”.
A business that closes can be described as a “failed business”.
A breakup can be described as a “failed relationship”.
And perhaps, in some sense, we can define these things as failures. But if we do, why have we decided that failure is automatically a bad thing?
Consider a marriage that ends, allowing both people to move forward into brighter, gentler or more fulfilling lives.
Or a business that closes because it has become a source of enormous stress and pressure, allowing its owner to rediscover their passion and move into a new stage of their career.
How can we look at those endings and say that they were failures?
Perhaps the ending was actually the thing that allowed a new chapter to begin.
My Reflections
As I reflected on this, I realised that I have a habit of holding on to old ways of life, even when I know that something has changed.
The most prominent example of this has been my continual journey through tertiary study. From 2021 to 2026, I have moved from degree to degree — Interior Design, Kinesiology, Library and, most recently, Traditional Chinese Medicine.
And looking back, each of those degrees had a purpose in my life and on my path.
Interior Design gave me the flexibility in my schedule that allowed me to study Kinesiology, which ultimately became my biggest career passion.
Library gave me financial stability and a more sustainable routine, allowing me to comfortably grow and develop my business.
But since beginning Traditional Chinese Medicine, I haven’t felt the same passion that I felt for Kinesiology. And unlike my previous studies, it wasn’t making my life easier or supporting the other things that mattered to me.
So why was I so determined to complete what would have been an eight-year, part-time degree?
The answer was surprisingly simple.
Because quitting meant failing.
And if I failed, then surely there must be something wrong with me.
Maybe I wasn’t smart enough.
Maybe I wasn’t hard-working enough.
Maybe I just wasn’t capable of following something through to the end.
For a long time, I didn’t realise how much of my decision was being influenced by those beliefs.
But over the last few weeks, my perspective has begun to shift.
Quitting my degree is a completely separate concept from failure.
I could choose to see it as failing. But I can also choose to see it for what it actually is: a decision to change direction.
It is giving myself the freedom to pursue the things that matter more to me in the long term.
And importantly, choosing to leave this degree doesn’t make the previous years a waste. It doesn’t mean that studying TCM was a mistake. It simply means that what felt like the right path when I began is no longer the path I want to continue walking.
Final Thoughts
Maybe that’s something we forget when we think about success and failure.
We imagine our lives as though there is one correct path, and that success means continuing along it without changing our minds.
But perhaps life isn’t really about finding one path and staying on it forever.
Perhaps it is about continually checking in with ourselves and having the courage to acknowledge when something no longer feels right.
Sometimes moving forward means continuing.
Sometimes it means slowing down.
And sometimes, it means stopping altogether and choosing a different direction.
Quitting doesn’t necessarily mean that we have failed.
Sometimes, it means that we have learned enough to know that there is somewhere else we would rather go.
And perhaps our lives aren’t really about success and failure at all.
Perhaps they are about paying attention, learning from where we have been, and continually moving ourselves towards the path that feels right for us.
Begin your journey today!
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