Knowing When to Quit

Hello! Welcome back.

In between Series 1 and 2 I've taken some time to reflect on my own journey with Quitting since the podcast began in November 2020.

In Part 1 I looked at the podcast itself and use the Quitting Quadrantl® Framework to map my journey from Beginners' Flow, to Midway Burnout...

In Part 2 I reflected on two big life changes that I was committed to starting in 2021 but that in the end I didn't go through with.

In Part 3 I talk about 'Beautiful Endings' and the importance of ending projects with grace and celebration in order to honour what has been created. I share the experience of closing my comedy night after 7 years, and of reimagining my fortnightly Moon Group.

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Quitting Quadrant® - https://sarah-weiler.medium.com/knowing-when-to-quit-introducing-the-quitting-quadrant-model-37ff083f12a2

Quitting Quadrant®- www.quittingquadrant.com

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

Hello! Welcome back.

In between Series 1 and 2 I've taken some time to reflect on my own journey with Quitting since the podcast began in November 2020.

In Part 1 I look at the podcast itself and use the Quitting Quadrantl® Framework to map my journey from Beginners' Flow, to Midway Burnout...

In Part 2 I reflect on two big life changes that I was committed to starting in 2021 but that in the end I didn't go through with: namely moving abroad and starting a Masters. I talk about how I made the decisions, the emotions I experienced, and the importance of experimentation as part of the process.

In Part 3 I talk about 'Beautiful Endings' and the importance of ending projects with grace and celebration in order to harvest what has been created.

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Quitting Quadrant® - https://sarah-weiler.medium.com/knowing-when-to-quit-introducing-the-quitting-quadrant-model-37ff083f12a2

Quitting Quadrant®- www.quittingquadrant.com

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

Hello! Welcome back.

In between Series 1 and 2 I've taken some time to reflect on my own journey with Quitting since the podcast began in November 2020.

In Part 1 I look at the podcast itself and use the Quitting Quadrantl® Framework to map my journey from Beginners' Flow, to Midway Burnout... You may recognise your own patterns with creative projects as I talk through the model.

In Part 2 I reflect on two big life changes that I was committed to starting in 2021 but that in the end I didn't go through with. I talk about how I made the decisions and the importance of experimentation as part of the process.

In Part 3 I talk about 'Beautiful Endings' and the importance of ending projects with grace and celebration in order to harvest what has been created.

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Quitting Quadrant® - https://sarah-weiler.medium.com/knowing-when-to-quit-introducing-the-quitting-quadrant-model-37ff083f12a2

Quitting Quadrant®- www.quittingquadrant.com

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

‘I had all the external support I could have hoped for, but it still wasn’t making me happy. There was a deeper, bigger, issue within me.’

This week we talk to Vicky Johnson - Co-founder & Director at the Museum of Happiness, an organisation which uses the Science of Happiness to spread more love, peace and happiness into the world.

You'd imagine that to run a Museum of Happiness you'd have to have a pretty sunny disposition, and you wouldn't be wrong. Vicky is one of the most positive people I've worked with - uber-resilient and full of the joys of life. And yet, the uncertainty of running a start-up combined with a job that focuses on supporting others with their well-being eventually took it's toll on her own mental health.

In this episode Vicky shares how on 3 separate occasions she was ready to walk away for the Museum of Happiness, and how each time it forced her to go deeper into her internal world to resource herself and understand what was really going on.

This is an honest account of burning out, facing up to the mud and coming out the other side with the tools, wisdom and humanity to lead the organisation of her dreams.

In this episode we discuss:

🤗 The success of Museum of Happiness and how their first happiness event went viral

✋ The 3 times in the journey of the start up that she really wanted to quit

📞 Moving away from ‘I’m the helper / I’m the teacher’ and getting support 

🚪 The turmoil of two of their venues closing in quick succession

🏆 Being nominated as one of the top 100 community leaders in the world by Facebook and how meeting other founders changed her perspective.

🏝 The difference between needing a holiday and actually taking some proper time off to return

🤫 Meeting the Dalai Lama straight after Vipassana(!) and what 10 days of silence taught her

❤️ How she used to run the organisation when she was burned out and how she’s put self-care at the heart of organisation now

🥳 How upping the volume on the joy can help combat stress

🗣 How Vicky has sharpened her ability to say NO

Links:

Museum of Happiness Facilitator Training - https://www.museumofhappiness.org/teach

Happier World Club - https://www.museumofhappiness.org/happy-world-club

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in May 2021

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

‘If you’ve waited until the point until you hate the thing to close it, you’ve waited too long.’

John Williams is the bestselling author of 'F**k Work Let's Play' and a coach for creative entrepreneurs who want to make money from the things they love.

I first met John 10 years ago when I attended one of his Scanners' nights and it's no exaggeration to say that his work changed the course of my career. John helps people to see that they can get 'paid to play', but that in order to do that you have to actually start. And eventually, you have to know when to stop too.

In this episode we discuss:

💡What a 'Scanner' is and the difference between a good and bad one.

🛳The importance of 'shipping things' even if they're not ready.

📂 Category Creation and building the thing you wish existed.

😱 The importance of community when you hit the inevitable crisis point of a creative project.

🎤 The role in sharing ideas with an audience and getting feedback early.

✋ John's decision to close parts of his business, even when he still had lots of customers.

🗣 The power in declaring an ending publicly.

🧠 How you appease the ego when you close something that has worked.

🔥 John's advice for bringing your ideas to life quickly as a scanner.

USEFUL LINKS:

John Williams - https://fworkletsplay.com/

Join John's FB group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/johnwilliamsfwork/

Buy the book - https://amzn.to/3DShiYA

Download John’s free worksheet to choose your business and take his free 5 day standout challenge at https://fworkletsplay.com/

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in May 2021

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

‘Quitting doesn’t have to mean stopping the car and getting out - it can just be taking a different direction.’

Today's episode is with Mathy Silvakumaran - she's a writer, filmmaker and disability activist from Yorkshire, who is sharing her story of knowing when to quit her PHD.

In this episode we explore:

🧘🏽‍♀️The importance of taking time away to get clarity and headspace on a decision.

😣 How worrying you 'always quit things' can make you double down and stay somewhere against your better judgement.

🧭 Navigating the world as a disabled person and how lack of representation can be the driver for change.

🗣 How to talk about and repackage an experience after you've walked away.

🏫 The role of schools in teaching us it's okay to quit.

😭 How emotionally draining it can be to not know whether you want to quit, but still have to turn up and work.

🎨 How having 'nothing to do' can often lead you to the activities you really enjoy.

USEFUL LINKS

Mathy's website: https://www.sivamathys.com/

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in Late 2020.

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

‘That time my body just went ‘no no no no’ I can’t do this.’



Amisha Ghadiali is the host of podcast and founder ofAll That We Are (previously Future is Beautiful) and author of Intuition - Access Your Inner Wisdom. Trust Your Instincts. Find Your Path published in 2021.

Amisha has been a visionary in the way that she's worked, allowing ideas to come to her and using her intuition to birth new and trailblazing concepts into the world.

In this episode we discuss:

💡Whether a project or idea takes up energy when we keep it running in the background

👁️Amisha being a visionary and creating things that didn’t already exist

✨What it feels like in Amisha’s body when an idea ‘arrives’

👂How Amisha has learned to listen to her NO over time

🇮🇳Coming from an immigrant family and leaving the ‘respectable’ career of politics

🤚How living out of our values often means saying NO to really great opportunities

🌳Writing a book in a treehouse during lockdown

💜Amisha’s top tips for connecting with our intuition

Useful links

Amisha's website - www.amisha.co.uk

Amisha's podcast - www.allthatweare.org 

Amisha's book - https://www.amisha.co.uk/intuition/

Follow Amisha - @amishaghadiali

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in Summer 2021

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

‘’This person said to me - if you want to progress, you need to learn to not cry.’’

Hannah is Head of Compliance at Lockton, an insurance broker and a trustee and board director of Ella’s, a charity works with women who have survived trafficking and sexual exploitation.

In this conversation we explore Hannah’s professional conundrum - she longs to be a role-model for women in her industry to show them it is possible to be in a position of leadership and have a family, yet she is frustrated with the slow changes in gender equality and the battles she faces on a daily basis at work.

She isn’t sure she can stay much longer in the system, not to mention the other parts of herself she wants to explore - baking, being in nature; just BEING. How can she show up for these women and also show up for herself?

In this episode we explore:

• Hannah’s frustrations with gender equality in the corporate world.
• People being surprised that someone at her level is married with kids.
• How the skills that people learn being new parents should be seen as transferable skills in the workplace.
• Do we always have to affect change from within an organisation? Or are there other ways to influence change?
• How it’s still not okay for women to be emotional at work.
• Having open conversations about menopause, menstrual cycles with colleagues at work and building workplaces around the menstrual cycle.
• The financial logistics when transitioning from a career to running your own project and how to start taking by small steps.
• Bringing more 'being' into the day-to-day.

Useful links:

Hannah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-pring-compliance/

'If men had periods' blog: https://www.redschool.net/blog/if-men-had-periods

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in November 2020 during lockdown

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

''IT'S THE CY-CLE, THE CYCLE OF LIFE!''

Vix Anderton is an embodiment coach, cyclical living and authenticity maven who guides overdoers, overthinkers and recovering perfectionists to reconnect with their authenticity and resilience.

She's had a fascinating career starting in the RAF, then the corporate world, and now she runs her thriving coaching business from sunny Bali. Her knowledge of cyclical living has supported me no-end in understanding the rhythms of my business and life. In this episode she'll share how cyclical living is everywhere, and especially how it helps us to tune into our natural sense of when it's time to quit even though the dominant culture says otherwise.

She says:

‘’The more positive view of quitting is: ‘I’ve felt everything there is to feel, I’ve really listened to myself and I’m making a decision from capital S self. I’m not triggered, I’m not playing out an old childhood pattern. I’m a fully capable adult saying ‘I’ve reached the end of this cycle and it’s time for me to move on and do something else.’’

In this episode we discuss:

• Quitting the Airforce - why she left and how she approached leaving
• Why the empty space or 'winter' post quitting is so important and our reluctance to go there
• How everything has a cycle - even conversations!
• Why you shouldn’t do business marketing when you’re pre-menstrual
• All about Autumn (the letting go phase) and how to build it into your day
• The importance of building in reflection time and space into business
• Rituals for letting go (which may or may not include Taylor Swift)
• Is there a thing as too much winter?
• Realistic Minimums with cycle living and how to not be a perfectionist about it
• My own reflections of a mini-winter I took with this podcast

Useful links:

Vix's website: https://vixanderton.com/

Vix's Decelerator starting 21st March 2022: https://vixanderton.com/the-decelerator

Vix's IG: @Vix_Anderton

Podcast homepage: www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Buy us a coffee to support the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler

Artwork - Tom Pauling

Music - Sarah Weiler

Editors - Johnny Hall/Sarah Weiler

This was recorded in February 2021 during lockdown

''SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA BE A LITTLE BIT AWESOME''

‘Every single day something good happens in my life because of Project Awesome, not because I’m involved in it now, but because I was involved in it then.’

This week I talk to the unstoppable force that is Danny Bent (@danny_bent). He's an adventurer, happiness guru, storyteller and all-round good human.

In 2014 he set up a high-energy running club - Project Awesome- promising badass workouts, high 5s and free hugs at 6:30am. Very quickly hundreds of people (including me!) were gathering to run over Tower Bridge with the sunrise and then scheme great adventures during the post-workout coffee. So many lives were changed, yet behind the scenes Danny was burning out.

A difficult predicament arose - as a founder of a community impacting so many people's lives, did he even have the right to quit?

In this episode Danny bravely shares:

• How and why he made the decision to step away from such a thriving community
• How he was experiencing life day to day during the worst time and what was enabled in his life once he quit
• The loss of identity when you stand down from leading a community and how to cope with the sudden free time
• Quitting in sport - how you know when to push on and when to call it a day
• Danny’s advice for how to quit a passion project/community when it feels unthinkable to step down

‘Be pure to yourself and look after yourself. You don’t have to be a reproduction of anybody else. Even if that other self is YOURSELF. I don’t have to be the Danny I was 5 years ago when I set up Project Awesome.’ 

Links:

Danny Bent: www.dannybent.com / @danny_bent

Join the Great Norse Run: https://www.lykkeadventures.com/products/great-norse-run-2022

Project Awesome: https://projectawesomehq.com/

Join a free workout: https://www.facebook.com/projectawesomelondon/

Knowing When to Quit - Instagram - @knowingwhentoquit

Podcast homepage - www.sarahweiler.com/podcast/

Editor - Johnny Hall / Music - Sarah Weiler / Artwork - Tom Pauling

This was recorded in May 2021

WANT TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? You can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/sarahweiler