Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Upside of Quitting

Quitting.

sigh.

Quitting.



Quitting has been on my mind.  A lot.  So this was probably the worst time (but maybe the best?) to stumble on a podcast called, "The Upside of Quitting." I feel drawn to the edge, tempted to the precipice.  You see, "The upside of quitting" is not just any old podcast, it's an economics podcast.  One of the best ways to get my attention is to show that something makes economic sense.

In economics we talk about a few different kinds of costs.  Pertinent to this conversation: sunk costs and opportunity costs.  You've heard the old adage "No use crying over spilled milk."  Well, the spilled milk is a sunk cost.  It's the time/money/effort/emotion that you've already invested in something that you can't get back.  And opportunity costs?  Those are what you're giving up in other opportunities in order to take the opportunity you have.  That is to say, "you can't have your cake and eat it, too."  To put it another, more contextual way, I can't be in Colombia and the United States at the same time.  One opportunity is obtained only at the cost of the other.  But back to quitting.

The sunk costs of this experience are, well, sunk, and that makes them inherently unworthy of talking about.  I guess they weren't as pertinent to the conversation as I thought.  As for opportunity costs, though, that's a whole different story.  If I were to quit, say, at the end of this semester, I could be back in the United States for North America's summer.  It's a great time to be in the US, for several reasons.  One, I could probably find a seasonal job while I re-evaluate some things, which would look a lot like putting a little money in the bank and getting my sorry self out into the mountains for some R&R.  Two, summer in Montana (I think that's where I would go) is beautiful.  Three, the direct cost of being in Colombia is (potentially) my continuing emotional health.

On the other hand, quitting has an opportunity cost as well.  If I left Colombia, I'm not sure how I would feel about myself having quit.  Assiduousness and perseverance have become so ingrained in me that I'm not sure I'll feel any better about anything, having to live with the idea that I left something unfinished.  Next, my leaving early is a cost to a project that I think is really worthwhile.  I might not be the best EFL teacher ever, but I'm the only EFL teacher here.  What I'm giving these students is something they don't have otherwise, something that can drastically improve their professional futures, something they need.  Quitting doesn't just mean letting myself down.  It also means letting them down.  Another cost: I've looked at some graduate level programs in economics, and found one I think I might be interested in, especially because there is a fellowship available for it.  But, to be eligible for the fellowship you have to have served for a year in a developing country.  If I leave before my commitment is over here, I cost myself that future opportunity.

How does this all turn out?  Well, I've been thinking about quitting, and thinking about staying, and thinking about quitting, and thinking about staying, and at the moment, I just don't know.  The opportunity cost of staying is short term, the opportunity cost of leaving is long term.  The direct cost of staying is long term (potentially) and the direct cost of leaving is just a plane ticket.

There's an interesting website up right now, "freakonomicsexperiments.com" where the guys at Freakonomics (the authors of "the upside of quitting") will flip a coin for you.  If my indecision gets any worse, which is to say, if I get any closer to the quitting inclination, I may have to let them flip a coin on my future.  For now, though, I guess I'll just keep on keepin' on.

If you're interested in the podcast (I really recommend it), it's called Freakonomics Radio, and you can find it on iTunes and Stitcher.com

Alex

No comments:

Post a Comment