Hi, I'm a quitter and the world hasn't ended and I didn't completely destroy my career. All I did was listen to my heart like Roxette told me to do. And I decided to stop making YouTube videos, which also go out on Spotify as well. So today I wanted to make a special bonus video to share why I made that decision and to take a moment or two to talk about why quitting isn't such a bad thing. So let's talk.
It's for about three years, except for a few months I took off in late 2022. And it's been a real challenge. Look, I try really hard not to let external factors like viewer numbers drive what I do. Because I absolutely love creating content about mental health. But when all the time and effort I put in isn't paying off, then something has to give. The thing is that I put in a lot of effort.
Each video takes about a day and a half to create, same again for the podcast episodes. And in between that I'm doing one-on-one appointments with clients. So it might be no surprise to hear me tell you that by the time I reached the weekend every week, I am drained of all energy and enthusiasm. And I usually spend Saturday on the couch mindlessly watching YouTube or drag rays, because I've got nothing left in the tank.
The thing that has made that worse for me is that YouTube seems to really not be the biggest fan of most of my videos, which often average just 50 or 60 views on a good week in the first day or two it's released. I'm trying not to let my ego get involved, but it's so disheartening when you put so much effort in and a video flops. So then I've been spending ages on the weekend doing courses and watching videos about how to improve my YouTube channel bit by bit.
And I'm doing all the things to grow my channel, because the plan was for it to be another way to share my work, including the books I write. But crickets. And that's so disheartening. A few weeks ago, I was watching yet another video by yet another so-called YouTube expert to learn how to grow my channel, and I realized enough was enough. All the time and energy I was pouring into this thing was just making me miserable.
I want to finish off some studies I'm doing and write another book, and I never have the physical or emotional energy to do those things, because I'm drained by all the effort I put into YouTube, which just isn't translating into the kind of return on investment I would hope for with such a big time commitment. So I quit, and I'm making this video to explain why, but also to share an important message. It's okay to quit things.
We need to stop this idea that we have to keep going and going no matter what. Yes, it's important to try your hardest and to not quit at the first sign of trouble, but if something is making you miserable, then it's a sure sign that something has to give. Because your mental health is more important than any other consideration, and you need to put your well-being first. So that's it for my videos on YouTube and Spotify for now.
I may experiment on Spotify, and I'm not saying I'll never come back to YouTube, but for now I'm done. Of course, I'm still creating my podcast every week, so you can come and join me on your preferred podcast platform, or sign up at LTAMH.com to have it delivered to your inbox every week. So to wrap up, sometimes we need to make tough calls in life, but always remember this. Nothing changes if nothing changes. Thanks so much for watching, take care of yourself, and talk to you sometime.