I recently finished reading The Dip by Seth Godin, and it really got me thinking.
In a nutshell, The Dip argues that most of the projects we take on in life are actually worth abandoning—so that we can invest our time and energy into the ones that really matter. Sounds a little counterintuitive, right?
Stick with me, because this book is worth your time.
First Impressions: “An Amazon Book”
You know those books on Amazon that feel like “Amazon books”? The ones you won’t stumble across at a bookstore, and these days you’re not 100% sure if they were written by a human or by an AI?
The Dip definitely falls into that category. The one thing that reassures me it’s not AI-generated is that the author is Seth Godin—a guy who’s been doing this kind of short, sharp, accessible book long before AI was even a buzzword.
And true to his style, The Dip is short, straight to the point, and easy to read.
But the takeaway left me chewing on some tough thoughts.
Quitting Is Okay
When we grow up, we’re bombarded with messages about persistence. Parents, teachers, superheroes, TV shows—everyone drills into us that we should never give up, that we should fight until the very end.
And honestly? That’s terrible advice in the real world.
Godin makes the case that, in most situations, the smarter move is to quit.
Think about it. Maybe when you were ten, you dreamed of playing like Michael Jordan. You joined a basketball team, imagined yourself going pro… but after a few months you realized there were kids way ahead of you. At some point, you stopped going. You quit.
That same scenario plays out in college, or with side projects, or startups. We spread ourselves too thin, trying to push forward on every front, and end up with no real progress anywhere. That’s where the idea of The Dip comes in.
So What Exactly Is The Dip?
Godin shows it with a graph, but let me describe it: imagine a curve that sinks down before rising again. That sunken middle? That’s the dip. The hardest, longest, most frustrating part of any meaningful effort.
The dip is six years of grinding through an engineering degree. It’s ten years of ballet training. It’s twenty years of paying off a mortgage while you build your business. It’s that deep, dark stretch where progress feels invisible and the rewards are nonexistent.
And here’s the kicker: not all dips are worth crossing. Some end in massive payoff—like becoming a surgeon after years of brutal training. Others? They lead nowhere. You slog through pain and sacrifice only to end up with little to show for it.
The challenge is figuring out which dip you’re in.
Godin’s Advice
Godin’s argument is simple but brutal: double down only on the projects that have a meaningful, long-term upside. Everything else? Drop it. Don’t keep wasting energy where the payoff doesn’t justify the grind.
He also talks about “the Cul-de-Sac”—jobs or projects that aren’t difficult anymore but are going nowhere. You’re stuck on a flat road that doesn’t lead anywhere. In those cases too, the smart play is to quit.
A Book That Stuck With Me
Right now, I’ve got about five personal projects competing for my attention. After reading The Dip, I started rethinking where my energy really belongs. I’ve been working on a plan to cut the noise and focus only on what matters.
If you’re in the same boat—juggling too many projects and not sure which ones deserve your time—I highly recommend this book. You can get through it in an afternoon.
The Dip – Seth Godin
In this iconic bestseller, legendary business thinker and bestselling author Seth Godin proves that winners are really just the best quitters. Godin shows that winners quit fast, quit often and quit without guilt – until they commit to beating the right Dip.