John Pierce is an entrepreneur with a focus on C-Suite consulting, M&A in the RIA segment, and a builder and leader of high-quality teams.
Resilience—the capacity to adapt, recover and persist in the face of challenges—is widely celebrated in both professional and athletic domains. In corporate culture, resilience is often equated with grit and perseverance against adversity, while in endurance events and high-performance sports, it is seen as the mental and physical toughness to push toward the finish line despite fatigue or setbacks.
What happens when your body says enough, or in the business sphere, your mind understands your current employer is more of a scorpion than an enabler of high performance?
Resilience Versus Persistence
While it may seem counterintuitive, resilience is not synonymous with relentless persistence. Sometimes, the most resilient act is knowing when to stop, recognizing that pressing forward could result in injury, burnout or lasting emotional harm. That kind of resilience can become your “superpower” if you are willing to subvert your ego. Am I advocating being a “quitter”? Absolutely not. Let’s reframe the concept.
Evidence shows that strategic withdrawal—”quitting” in common parlance—can sometimes represent your healthiest option. In sports, this may mean dropping out of a race when pain signals indicate potential injury or when performance is impaired by environmental danger, like extreme heat or poor air quality.
Importantly, quitting should not be conflated with failure. From a resilience perspective, it can be reframed as “adaptive disengagement,” a strategy that preserves resources for future, more promising endeavors.
The cultural glorification of “never giving up” often ignores the fact that human capacity is finite. The body has physiological limits, and the mind has psychological boundaries. Ignoring these in pursuit of an ideal of toughness can turn resilience into recklessness.
In workplace contexts, leaving a toxic job can be an act of self-preservation that prevents long-term harm. Research shows that prolonged exposure to harmful organizational cultures significantly increases the risk of burnout and mental health disorders. Choosing to exit can free individuals to recover, refocus and re-engage in healthier environments.
How To Know When To Quit
Making the choice between perseverance and withdrawal requires accurate self-awareness and careful evaluation of circumstances. Here are four considerations for you to contemplate:
1. Physical Signals: Persistent or worsening injury pain, abnormal fatigue and medical warning signs deserve attention. In athletics, listening to these signals can prevent permanent damage.
2. Psychological Indicators: Chronic anxiety, loss of motivation, depressive symptoms or emotional numbness can point to an unsustainable situation in the workplace.
3. Support Systems: Input from coaches, physicians, mentors, soundboards and trusted colleagues can help balance subjective feelings with objective assessment.
4. Weighing Long-Term Goals Versus Short-Term Costs: Stepping back does not mean abandoning goals; rather, it can mean safeguarding health to remain active in work or sport for years to come.
Resilience is essential for thriving in both the workplace and athletic events; it enables individuals to face challenges, adapt to adversity and sustain motivation toward long-term objectives. However, an equally important skill is knowing when to strategically withdraw to protect health and well-being. True resilience includes the wisdom to recognize situations where pressing forward may cause more harm than good.
Final Thoughts: Retiring At 13
I have completed 13 full-distance Ironman Triathlons in my fitness journey, starting with my first Olympic-distance triathlon in 2005. My desire was to move away from the number 13 and retire with 14 finishes. My 14th triathlon started with a solid swim in the 2.4-mile course. My time on the bike course, after training at altitude last summer, was respectable until I reached mile 80 of the 112-mile course. While my legs were feeling strong and my core, due to my yoga practice, allowed me to be aero, my chronic right knee said, “no more.” I finished the bike course and could have attempted to walk the marathon. But after mentally and emotionally deciding it made no sense to potentially permanently damage my knee, I retired with 13 finishes and am at peace.
Sometimes you need to admit physical limitations. Sometimes you need to leave a job. Consider the concepts presented here to help you evaluate your work and whatever personal long-term goals you have. Be at peace with your decision.
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