3 Signs You Should Abandon Your Creative Project
Quitting intentionally, rather than letting it happen.
Let’s talk about quitting.
An act that used to be considered shameful and only for the weak (“winners never quit, quitters never win”) has, in my opinion, recently transformed into something more akin to reinvention.
We talk about quitting toxic jobs, quitting people-pleasing, quitting social media. Our modern discourse about quitting has shifted away from the extreme, in which “continuing for the sake of continuing” was the norm. Now, we embrace quitting as a useful escape hatch from unhealthy life situations or patterns.
But quitting also has its drawbacks. Any artist or creative with a string of unfinished projects knows this; despite how positive quitting can be, it can also evoke feelings of guilt, regret, and confusion. And worse, if that little tendency of quitting projects turns into a chronic habit, where you find it impossible to see things through, it’ll hinder your creative and personal growth. So, how do you quit “quitting”?
In this post, I’ll cover 3 specific signs that you should quit, or abandon, your creative project. These signs will point you toward when and why you should quit, and they’ll also neutralize the negative emotions that result from it. With that baggage alleviated, you can feel more confident in your decision and more capable in moving forward into the next project. Let’s get into it! 👇
Why abandon a creative project?
For artists and creatives, quitting can be a slippery slope, especially when you’re just starting out.
If you abandon your project at the first hesitation, doubt, or roadblock, you risk setting a precedent. Without learning how to push past these obstacles, you might lose confidence in your abilities to do so later on. Over time, this can make it harder and harder to finish any new project you take on. Because of this, the decision to quit shouldn’t always be made lightly.
When done intentionally, quitting can be a powerful redirection strategy for your own creative goals. It provides relief and saves you time. But most importantly, it can make your learning process faster and get you where you want to go — whether onto a more relevant project or more important tasks — sooner.
So, how can you decide to quit intentionally, rather than just letting it happen?
When it makes sense to quit
In my own experience, the following situations justify quitting:
1. You’re just exploring, playing, and having fun.
Not all projects are serious commitments. There’s a big difference between a project that supports your long-term creative goals and one that you’re doing just for fun, as a form of play.
Think about doodling, for instance. You might draw silly little doodles on your homework or notebooks. Over time, you start to appreciate how this act of doodling brings you joy, and how it becomes a much-needed escape from your worries or from the mundanity of your day. As that form of play (doodling) matures into passion (drawing and illustration), you can then decide to pursue it in a methodical fashion. That involves learning fundamentals, practicing, and pursuing projects.
But until then — if you’re just dabbling in something as an exploration, to try it on for size and see how you like it, don’t feel bad about dropping it once you’re satisfied.
If your project is in pursuit of your goals, however, you can weigh the prospect of quitting in other ways:
2. You realize you’re in over your head and out of your depth. The concept of moving forward feels unrealistic.
All creative projects will have roadblocks. Some of these might be self-imposed, like perfectionism, fear of failure, or procrastination. Others, however, may be due to external factors. The key with this is to distinguish which constraints will make completing your project unrealistic and not worth your time or energy. I learned this lesson through one of my own projects recently.
I had set out to create a digital painting of a character with a high level of detail and physical accuracy. I knew the project was ambitious, as I had only worked on smaller, more narrowly focused projects leading up to this, but those had bolstered my confidence. I was ready for a bigger challenge.
As soon as I started entering new territory with this project, past the threshold of where my previous ones had ended, I ran into obstacles. I couldn’t figure out how to choose colors or how the lighting should illuminate the subject or how the clothes should lay. But I was determined to push forward: I pulled dozens of references, combed through all the anatomy books in my arsenal, and persevered.
By the following morning, I finally admitted defeat. Because I lacked the necessary skills to proceed, I was spending far more time studying and researching than actually working on my project. No matter how hard I could try, the gap between my current skills and what I wanted to accomplish was too broad. (This is why it’s so important to choose a project that’s a good fit for your skills.)
The difficulty and lack of reward left me exasperated. This leads to my final point:
3. You consistently aren’t enjoying yourself, and your motivation continues depleting.
No project is fun all the time. Your level of enjoyment will rise and recede, depending on where you’re at in the project, what parts you like or dislike, or even how much sleep you had, if you’ve eaten enough, or if you keep getting interrupted.
Feeling dissatisfaction throughout the creative process isn’t concerning in itself; it’s the natural tide of emotions. But the feeling is worth noting, especially if it becomes overwhelming. If these feelings of indifference, frustration, or boredom become the norm, especially over multiple working sessions, that’s a strong indicator that you might be better off doing something else.
After all, we do creative projects not just to produce something great and fulfill our ambitions, but to enjoy ourselves and have fun. It’s what makes art so worthwhile. If you reach a point where you’ve lost sight of that, there’s no better reason to take a pause.
As someone who formerly “continued for the sake of continuing,” I’ve found a lot of relief in using these points to consider whether or not I should abandon something. Even my reading habits have been improved: once I feel like a book isn’t as engaging to me anymore, and I’m not gaining much from it, I can put it down and pick up something else more exciting and interesting. It’s a reminder each time that quitting, when done well, can open a door to new possibilities.
I hope you can also use these signs to benefit yourself, whether in your creative projects or elsewhere. Good luck!
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I don't think I could quit a project, to be honest. I don't have that big of an ego, but I'd rather die than quit and lose my pride, lol. This is great stuff to challenge my mindset though—much appreciated!