“The Dip” is a concept from Seth Godin.
I haven’t read it–I just loaded it onto my kindle and the reading starts immediately after writing this–but I feel like I’m in one. A “dip,” that is.
I know I’m in one, actually. I’ve known that for a while.
A dip is a temporary setback that can be overcome with persistence. That’s what Google says about it. Not all setbacks are worth overcoming.
That’s a scary thought, isn’t it?
Sometimes quitting is the right thing to do.
I remember a podcast by Freakonomics on that very concept, and I’d wager Godin’s book “The Dip” was referenced at least once. It was a while ago, so I don’t remember.
I’m thinking of the quitting half of the equation tonight not so much because of writing, but because of a conversation I had with the wifey about things I’ve quit, and that quitting them was absolutely the right thing to do. I don’t regret quitting them.
I used to be a DJ. Used to.
I used to run a recording label. Used to.
I used to do a weekly podcast about music, and one about baseball. Used to.
I used to be an actor. This one’s harder, because I loved parts of being an actor. I loved all the parts that involved storytelling and actually acting. But I miss none of the other parts, and I wasn’t good at the other parts. Not in the way that I was good at other things.
I think that’s what Seth Godin is talking about in “The Dip.”
I guess I’ll find out 😛 I’ll report back what I learn.
(Writing today was hard, but I did it. Work was good, but also hard, only in that today was just an “off” day. I’m satisfied with how I pushed through, but I also have to be honest and say that I wish I was thriving. But, I’m not. Not yet. I’m working on it. Every day)