Unscripted: Screw the Should Life

Unscripted: Screw the Should Life

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Unscripted: Screw the Should Life
Unscripted: Screw the Should Life
“How to Know When to Quit or Keep Going

“How to Know When to Quit or Keep Going

A soulful, strategic guide to making big life decisions without burning everything down.

Marni Battista's avatar
Marni Battista
Apr 03, 2025
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Unscripted: Screw the Should Life
Unscripted: Screw the Should Life
“How to Know When to Quit or Keep Going
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The Checklist I Use When I Want to Quit Something Big

(a.k.a. The Time I Was Googling Teaching Jobs in My Makeshift Portugal Office While Jeremy Waited for Me to Come to Bed)

“This one’s for you if you’ve ever found yourself low-key researching a backup life plan… at 11pm… with tears in your eyes and your dignity hanging by a thread.”

It started with a ski accident.
A seemingly random near-crippling fall that left me broken in more ways than one—and not just physically. What it really broke was the illusion that I could keep running my life on hustle, hyper-functioning, and the hope that the next launch or pivot would finally make it all click again.

In the stillness that followed, something deeper cracked open:
All the pushing. All the pretending.

All the ways I’d been performing my own success without pausing long enough to ask, Do I even want this anymore?

So I did something that looked brave on Instagram—I booked what I called a “Semester Abroad” with my husband Jeremy and went to Portugal. I told myself it was an adventure. A reset. A chance to live the lifestyle I’d been helping clients build for years.

But the truth?

I brought my burnout with me.


The Night Everything Caught Up With Me

It was 11pm. I was sitting in a little corner of our Airbnb—a makeshift office with a wobbly desk and one dim lamp. The window was cracked open and I could hear the TV playing in the next room. Jeremy was waiting for me to finish so we could finally go to sleep.

But I wasn’t wrapping up client work or journaling deep epiphanies about my future.

I was on LinkedIn.
Googling “teaching jobs near me.”
Trying to convince myself that going back to elementary school teaching might be the easiest way to just… start over.

I loved teaching. I love kids. But this?
This wasn’t inspiration. It was desperation.

I felt like a total failure. Like I had somehow broken the dream I worked so hard to build. And the idea of walking away from it all—again—felt shameful.

I was in this beautiful setting, quietly freaking out on the inside. I put all my energy into making sure it all looked good on the outside.

But what most people miss is this:

Most of us don’t quit because we’ve failed.
We quit because we’re evolving, and no one gave us a process for how to make decisions when what we’ve built no longer matches who we’re becoming.

We confuse growth with collapse.
We confuse exhaustion with endings.
And our brains—trying to protect us—go binary: stay or go.

All or nothing.

Blow it up or suck it up.


🧠 Why Our Brains Push the Panic Button

Nearly 70% of professionals say they’ve considered walking away from their careers, but only a fraction do it with a real plan.

Worse, studies show 80% of those who make big changes without deep reflection feel just as stuck—or more so—18 months later.

Because here’s what’s really happening:

👉 When we’re overwhelmed, our brain defaults to binary, threat-based thinking—designed for survival, not clarity.
👉 The amygdala hijacks our higher thinking and makes the easiest, safest option feel like the only way out.
👉 Add shame, fear of failure, and performance addiction to the mix—and we’re completely cut off from our deeper wisdom.

Which is why most people end up either staying in a life they’ve outgrown… or quitting something prematurely and regretting it.


So what do I do now when I want to quit?

Let’s be real—there are moments where I still want to throw it all in a suitcase and disappear.
But now, instead of panic-quitting or pretending I’m fine, I pause.

And I walk myself through this 3-part process.


🌐 1. Holographic Thinking

Most of us make decisions with just one filter: logic, emotion, or intuition.

But when I use holographic thinking, I invite all three to the table.

  • LOGIC: What does the data say? What are the facts? Is this actually sustainable?

  • EMOTION: What am I feeling? Is this joy, fear, avoidance, burnout, or something deeper?

  • INTUITION: What does my body say? Does this feel aligned, even if it doesn’t make “sense” on paper?

If all three agree—it’s usually a full-body yes.
If they’re in conflict? I don’t force clarity. I stay with the tension and ask better questions.


🧪 2. Prototype Before You Pivot

When I thought I was done skiing after my accident, I didn’t go straight back to the black diamonds.
I spent a season cross-country skiing. I tested my body. I rebuilt my trust.
I gave myself the space to experiment without the pressure to prove anything.

And I do the same thing in business and life now.

  • Want to stop that weekly standup meeting? Try a test group with a new format instead.

  • Dreaming of living abroad? Rent for a month before uprooting everything.

  • Need to shift your work? Take Fridays off for a month and track your energy.

This is prototyping.
It’s playful. Grounded. Non-reactive.
It’s the bridge between what was and what could be.


✍️ 3. Ask Soul-Level Questions

The day after that moment in my Portugal office, I decided to reach out to a colleague.

She asked me:

“Do you still love the business you built?”

And I replied (with all the forced positivity I could muster):

“Not really. But I think I can squeeze a few more good years out of it.”

Her response, “That’s the most misaligned thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

Oof.

That moment ripped the lid off what I was avoiding:
I didn’t want to quit.
I wanted to tell the truth.
And I wanted to build something new that honored all of me—not just the persona I’d polished.

So I went deep. I started journaling.

  • What is freedom? And what does it feel like in my body?

  • What commitments have I made that are keeping me stuck?

  • Am I building a business or a cage?

  • Where am I still trying to earn approval, rather than follow resonance?

That’s when everything began to shift.
Not because I had all the answers—
But because I was finally asking the right questions.


🔓 The "I Don’t Know What To Do” Guide: A Soul-Led Framework for When You’re Done Faking It

This isn’t a list of pros and cons.
It’s a soul-aligned radical thinking tool I use to help pause with power, reflect, and make brave, integrity-driven decisions, without having to blow up the life you have worked so hard to create.

📥 Inside the PDF:

This checklist is your lifeline when everything feels like too much.
If you’re stuck in indecision, fantasizing about quitting, or quietly wondering “What the hell am I doing with my life?”—this is your pause point.

  • Print it. Write on it. Revisit it every time the pressure builds.

    You’ll walk away with:

    • Clarity about what’s actually going on beneath the fear and overwhelm, and the “I don’t know” feeling.

    • Confidence to either recommit—or consciously let go.

    • A grounded decision that honors you, not your fear.

Upgrade To Get Your Guide


💌 Final Note

I didn’t quit my business that day in Portugal.

But I did quit the version of me who thought she had to push, perform, and pretend in order to be successful.

I reclaimed something else entirely:
The right to evolve without apology.

So before you quit something big, pause.
Breathe.
And ask yourself the deeper question:

What if this isn’t the end?
What if it’s the beginning of your next becoming?

Upgrade Now and Become a Paid Member to get access to The “I Don’t Know What to Do” Guide. Just $7.

PS. My vision for this community is to continue providing the resources I have used myself and with my clients at an investment that can make sense right now for you. Your paid membership allows me to do this AND pay my bills.

Because selling my soul just isn’t an option anymore.

With fierce love,
Marni 💥

🎙️ Check Out our New Podcast Episode!

Breaking Free: Boundaries, Emotional Resilience & Reinvention in Midlife
with Jennifer Fable – Author, Hypnotherapist & Emotional Resiliency Coach

If you’ve ever felt resentful, overextended, or unsure how to say “no” without guilt—this episode is for you. Jennifer Fable joins me for a raw, eye-opening conversation on how to set powerful, guilt-free boundaries that actually strengthen your relationships.

We talk about:

  • Why boundaries aren’t walls—they’re bridges

  • How your language either connects or creates conflict

  • Why confidence doesn’t come before action—it comes from it

Jennifer shares how she healed from 7 mental health diagnoses by age 19 and rebuilt her identity from the inside out. Her take on boundaries is refreshing, bold, and deeply practical.

🔥 If you’re navigating midlife reinvention and want relationships that nourish you (not drain you)—this is a must-listen.

👉 Take the first step: Take the Decode Your Destiny Quiz
📘 Grab my NEW book, “Your Radical Living Challenge: 7 Questions for Leading A Meaningful life at RadicalLivingChallenge.com

Listen To This Episode!

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