How to Overcome The Fear of Quitting Your Job? 

You’ve been considering quitting your job for a long time, but you can’t decide.

You postpone that decision because you are overwhelmed by huge fears about what will happen when you quit your job.

What will you do then? How and from what will you live? How will you find a new job? What will everyone tell you? All these thoughts are running through your head, making your decision difficult.

How to overcome the fear of quitting your job? First, with a good plan for what you will do next, enough courage to try new things, and, most importantly, to think about where you see yourself in the future.

You must have heard stories about people who successfully overcome their fears. Sometimes it’s enough to face your fear head-on. For example, if it is a fear of heights, the solution can be bungee jumping.

In your case, it is best to look at the situation from several angles, make a plan, and keep a positive mindset. That will be your way of facing your fears. This article is here to help you with that.

What Are The Biggest Fears That Prevent You From Quitting Your Job?

You probably don’t understand why you feel so insecure and ask yourself: “Why am I so nervous about quitting my job?”

Sometimes you just want to go to your boss’s office and say, “I quit,” but specific fears keep you from doing so. What are these fears?

We will list the most common reasons why it is difficult to leave your current job but also give you practical solutions for them.

1. Fear of Losing Security

Job equals money, and money equals security. That’s how things go, and there’s nothing we can change about it.

Let’s say you work a well-paid job but one that drains you mentally and physically. After every day at that job, you feel so tired, as if you’ve been running on a treadmill all day.

Should you keep doing that unfulfilling job just for the money?

It is clear that money is not everything in life, but it is still an essential aspect of everyone’s life. Because how will you buy food and clothes and pay bills without money? And let’s not even get into the complex issue of health insurance, which is tied to your work.

This can be a tough decision for you if other family members depend on your earnings. In addition to being afraid of risking your financial stability, you also fear jeopardizing them. That’s why you keep doing that job that makes you depressed.

SOLUTION: Make a New Budget Plan

You prefer to avoid calculating and nervously counting money, but tough decisions like this call for it.

Although it may seem impossible to survive without your current salary, ask yourself: Will you die, starve, or be homeless if you quit your job?

We know this sounds too harsh, but if none of this is the case, there is a solution, and you may need to make small changes in your lifestyle.

Look at your monthly budget, how much you spend, and on what. If you’re more materialistic and like to spend too much money on things you don’t need, you might have to adjust your spending habits. At least until you find a new job that will allow you to do that.

One great piece of advice we can give you is to only quit your job if you have enough money to survive the next six months without income. 

If you are unsure and think you need a more extended period to get back on your feet financially, let it be a year. This period gives you enough time to find a new job and live a stress-free life in the meantime.

2. Fear of Judgment

You have a safe, corporate, well-paid job that others dream of.

However, everything is not so great for you, and you want to quit your job. 

How dare you? That will be the reaction of the people around you.

Your parents will not comprehend why you want to leave a corporate job that provides security. Understand that it is the pinnacle of life for their generation to have such a job, and they are not open to other possibilities.

Your friends also won’t understand why you want to quit your job because they might secretly be jealous of your job.

Let’s not forget about colleagues and employers. They can also create a negative image of you or even give you negative feedback that can hold you back when applying for a new job.

All these opinions create an additional mess in your head, making it even more challenging to decide.

SOLUTION: Don’t Think About Other People’s Opinions

This is common knowledge, but it is still difficult for most people not to depend on the opinions of others.

Your life is yours alone, and you can make decisions for yourself. Overly controlling parents can’t stop you from doing that. Neither do friends who don’t care about you.

There is also the belief that others care about your decision and judge you too much, but this is untrue.

“When you’re 20, you care what everyone thinks. When you’re 40, you stop caring what everyone thinks. When you’re 60, you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place.”

If you ask senior citizens what they regret the most, most will say that they regret paying too much attention to what others think.

Think a little about your past; would it have been better if you had listened to yourself instead of others? We think you know the answer.

As for colleagues and employers, you don’t have to resign rudely. Keep your decency, say your decision in person, write a resignation letter, respect the agreed notice period, and everything will be ok.

3. Fear of Giving Up

You finished college, went through various educations, and spent many sleepless nights studying to get the job you want. In the end, it happened.

However, you are dissatisfied with your job due to various circumstances and wonder why you spent so much time studying.

You are dissatisfied with the salary, lack of opportunities for advancement, colleagues, etc.

However, if you quit your job, you would feel like you would be throwing everything away and making the biggest mistake of your life.

You perceive quitting your job as a personal defeat.

SOLUTION: Don’t Look at Quitting As a Failure

Everything you’ve experienced has brought you to this point. You learned, experienced successes and failures, and came precisely where you are now.

All that time was not wasted because it helped you to create the person you are now.

Sometimes things don’t turn out how we plan, and what we expect to be perfect for us can be completely different.

Therefore, leaving a job that makes you unhappy should not be considered a failure.

Try this: Imagine yourself in the same job in five, ten, or twenty years?

If you don’t see yourself there, you don’t need to question your decision too much.

4. Fear of The Unknown

There is something in human nature to cherish their comfort zone. This is because they feel safe in it and avoid the unknown.

You’ve been doing your job for years but realized it’s time for a change. Obviously, that comfort zone is less comfortable than it used to be.

What is the unknown that scares you about losing your job:

• How long will you wait for a new job?
• Will you find the right job for yourself?
• Will you manage in your new job?
• How will you stand out in the brutal competition for a new job?
• Will you have to spend your savings while you are not working?

All these questions can make you anxious and nervous.

There is no correct answer to them, but there is a way you can deal with them.

SOLUTION: Don’t Be Afraid of the Unknown

That’s easier said than done. But think about it.

“Don’t fear the unknown. Embrace the opportunity. Failure is not permanent; it is the essence of learning” – W. Brett Wilson.

It’s normal to experience ups and downs, and work is a massive part of life.

Did you know the average person spends one-third of their life working? That’s an average of 90,000 hours at work for a lifetime. Crazy numbers.

Those numbers are even scarier if you’re not doing what you love, and you spend your whole life wondering what if.

The unknown doesn’t have to be scary. It can be exciting and awesome, bringing you the change you’ve always wanted.

To reach your dreams, you have to give new beginnings a chance.

Taking All of This Into Account

You are the creator of your destiny, and you know best if you should quit your job. 

We hope this article will help you better understand your fears. 

Making a big life change can be scary. But you know what’s even scarier? Regret.