“I am as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.” — Steve Jobs

[@ferriss4hourWorkweekEscape2011]

“Being able to quit things that don’t work is integral to being a winner” ― Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek

_“With renunciation life begins.” — Amelia Barr _

= The Art of Letting Go

Your capacity to say ‘No’ determines your capacity to say ‘Yes’ to greater things.

Logically, to start a next thing, you must quit the previous thing. Quitting one thing is the only way to find the focus to do the next thing.

In life, it’s not only about the perseverance, but also about knowing exactly when to quit. And quitting quickly allows you to move on to the next thing without incurring years of wasted time. Sometimes, holding on does more harm than letting go.

Quitting isn’t just quitting. Quitting is for winners.

• 決定放棄與否的同時，也在決定堅持與否
• 放棄是決定去選其他東西
• 不輸才是贏，少輸也是贏

Embrace the rare ability to start over with a beginner mindset

“The Quitting Framework” By Steven Bartlett

• Why are you thinking about quitting something?
  • It is hard
    • Question 1: Are the rewards worth the hardship/effort? Do you want the prize for winning this game?
      • Yes
        • Don’t quit. Stay and fight. Because it’s a meaningful challenge.
      • No
        • Just quit. There is nothing worse in life than doing something that is hard but meaningless. Quit those things that don’t serve you anymore. (停損)
        • 重點不是已經努力了多少，而是明天有沒有未來
  • It sucks
    • Question 2: Do you believe you could do something to make it not suck?
      • Yes
        • Go back to Question 1
      • No
        • Quit.
• The biggest risk is doing nothing.
  • 做出選擇: 繼續戰鬥 or 果斷放棄 → 原地內耗/迷惘徬徨 or 惶恐
    • 例如：
      • 工作問題，一律建議離職
      • 感情問題，一律建議分手
    • Why? 你會問這個問題，代表你正在猶豫、躊躇不前

“The Monkey and Pedestal Mental Model” by Annie Duke

[@dukeQuitPowerKnowing2022]

假設有人提案要訓練一隻猴子，讓牠能在舞台上用燃燒的火把雜耍。這個表演需要兩個元素：

1. 猴子能學會雜耍
2. 有一個漂亮的基座讓牠站上去

在這個計畫裡，真正的瓶頸是「猴子能不能被訓練成功」。

如果猴子學不會，再漂亮的基座也沒戲唱。

但很多人會選擇先蓋基座，因為它比較簡單、短期可見、看起來有「進展」。問題是，你可能投入大量資源（時間、人力、金錢）蓋基座，到最後卻發現猴子根本學不會，導致陷入「沉沒成本」效應 — 明知無望，卻更難放棄 — 等於把寶貴資源浪費掉，錯失了投入到其他更有前景項目的機會。

比喻

• 猴子 = 專案中最不確定、最棘手的挑戰
• 基座 = 相對簡單，但不會決定成敗的工作

Key Takeaway

 在做專案或追求目標時，應該 先全力訓練「猴子」，解決真正阻礙成功的核心問題，證明最困難的瓶頸是可行的（能訓練出火把猴），再來投資其他資源。否則，如果猴子訓練不出來，再漂亮的「基座」都沒有意義，只是自欺欺人。

常犯錯誤：先放下猴子去蓋基座，以為有了漂亮的基座，猴子就能「自然」學會表演 → 雙面災難：

1. 資源錯置，誤把進度當成果
2. 被心理綁架，難以抽身，越陷越深，無法止損

這就像你想開一家餐廳，最核心問題是「菜好不好吃」。

• 但你先砸錢裝潢（蓋基座），最後發現主廚根本煮不好（猴子訓練失敗）。
• 店面裝潢的錢已經花下去（沉沒成本），你又不好意思收掉，只好繼續虧錢硬撐。

See Also

• Decision Making
• Focus is about saying no