The Art of Quitting : When Enough is Enough

Rating:
Summary: The Possibilities Are Endless
Review: "The Art Of Quitting: When Enough Is Enough" may be the most unusual and most helpful book I have ever read. It is a little book 7" by 5", 139 pages and full of wisdom, wit and weirdness. A friend suggested this book when I talked about planning for retirement. You don't just retire, you know, you have to plan to retire. And that, my friend, is the jest of this book. You don't just quit, you have to plan to quit.

"Quitting does not come out of the clear, blue sky. Every quitter enters into his quit armed with something to quit, a number of methods at his disposal, and a natural predilection for how to proceed" so says, Evan Harris the author. She has written a book filled with all of the information you need (and some you don't need, but fun to read). There is work ahead- you must keep track of many items, if quitting is to be successful. Type of quit, technique, and style of the quitter are all part of the equation that must go into the quit.

There are 6 types of quits. You need to focus on what it is you don't want. Get it right!

1.Job quitting-paid or unpaid
2.Person quitting
3.Thing quitting
4.Location quitting
5.Idea quitting
6.Habit quitting

There are 20 techniques in quitting and Evan Harris writes a chapter on each type. They are informative and humorous. At first I thought this book was maybe, well, silly, but then I understood. Much of this book is written tongue in cheek, but it is filled with wisdom if you know how to interpret it. Quitting has a schedule- it starts with euphoria and may enter into post quitting depression. Some helpful hints are to tell everyone you know, that you have quit, they will congratulate you, or think about quitting something else so you can have the euphoria again.

Quitting is an art, an act of will and a form of expression, Some people may not understand and some will be jealous. Quit because you can. One of the most popular techniques of quitting that we can all identify with is the Make a Scene Quit. One example would be to wait for your boss to appear and ask you one more time to carry out some mindless task. Scream at your boss, and say, "I have had it", tear up your most important work and throw it at your boss and stomp out and say "I, Quit" No more job, for sure. Or use the Abandon and Conceal Quit. No one will know you are doing it- refuse to wear underwear, quit reading the table of contents, or stop believing in germs.
The most helpful quit is the Plot and Endure quit- You are planning to retire- you can tolerate most anything because you know there's an end in sight.

As W.C. Fields said "If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use in being a damn fool about it." This book is for real and can be very useful. It is also full of information to use at your next cocktail party or at the dentist's office when you are kept waiting. We are all going to quit something at some time in our life. Be prepared. Read the encyclopedia of quitting and go on do it. You know, I really have had enough of this, I quit. Highly recommended. prisrob