Guess what today is? If you have been reading my blog then you already know the answer is Hump Day.
If the novelty of renaming the day is beginning to wear off, then it is time to use the strength gained in Step 3: Be A Marathon Man and move onto Step 4 of my book Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine: Scorch The Bridge.
Per blog policy, here is an excerpt of the step below: The full text of my hiring, idling, and firing will be available in print and on Kindle in only a matter weeks.
This step came from my rich uncle. Well, he’s not really my uncle but you know how it is with Arab families. Anyhow, my uncle, who is tremendously successful, informed us that in the heat of battle, generals would scorch the bridge behind them, so troops would have no choice but to press forward and fight. Retreat was not an option. He counseled that the same tactic should be implemented when resigning from a job. Instead of lingering in the office for another day, make the conscious choice to quit and do so decisively. There was no time for wavering or second-guessing. Scorching the bridge, he said, was the end result of self-reflection, realizing that nothing could be gained from remaining idle. Such idleness, much like in times of war, would lead to death.
This is unquestionably one of the hardest steps to complete correctly. The biggest mistake is not standing firm with the commitment to completely sever all ties. In theory, it makes sense to proclaim that you are ready to resign and do so without hesitation. In practice, the act of following through will be tough. Submitting to the temptation to cower by putting off your resignation will prolong the ordeal for all parties involved creating more friction than necessary. The charade of sitting in your cubicle pretending to look busy while turning in subpar work is unfulfilling for you and of no use to the company. The uneasiness of coming in each day wondering if today will be the day that you have had enough of them or they have had enough of you will further exacerbate the distress of the situation. If your employer is apathetic to your indifference and you continue to endure the daily 9-5 countdown (which somehow has become 9-6), you will be like everyone else who hates his job- going to work just to get paid. The mercenary compensation is not worth the progress you have made up to this point. The consequence of an incomplete withdrawal will leave you in a permanent state of civil war.
