Sometimes It’s Okay to Quit
Most of us do not like the word quit. Our nature is to forge on with tenacity, never considering letting go. We complete every task by sticking it out no matter what. But sometimes quitting is the right thing. Sometimes we need to persevere and sometimes we need to just let things go. The trick is realizing that quitting something we are expected to accept isn’t failure; it is a necessary part of life. Quitting does not always have to be viewed as a bad thing. It can simply be a realistic acknowledgement to escape a negative situation.
Fear of Failure
The phrase “Quitters never win, and winners never quit” has been drummed into our heads from childhood. For some reason, we were taught that there is honor in finishing things that are unfulfilling, stressful, and sometimes even toxic, as long as we don’t quit. This has made us fearful of quitting. Instead of focusing on what is important to us and makes us happy, we just focus on toughing it out and getting through. We stop thinking about whether our decisions are ones that will bring us to the life we want to live. We are so afraid to be a failure that we stay in bad relationships, jobs that are not what we want, or toxic friendships. It can even be as simple as refusing to quit reading a book we are not enjoying. We deal with the stress, pain, and unhappiness just to avoid quitting. We end up failing to put ourselves and our own needs first.
Courage
It takes courage to overcome this fear of failure. Realizing that quitting will make us relieved and able to move on in our lives is the reward for having the guts to quit. It is amazing how powerful we can feel when we understand that we are allowed to choose the roles we want and how long we want them. If we have an unhealthy addiction, we work hard to end it. We should use the same mentality about quitting things that make us unhappy. Be courageous and own the path you choose. When we find ourselves in unfulfilling situations, it is important to ask ourselves some questions: “Why are we doing this?”, “Are we happy?”, and “Why do we want to quit?” By answering these questions, we are taking care of ourselves and deciding if it means that it is time to end things.
Hard Work is Mandatory
Deciding what we want in life takes mindful honesty and pursuing those things takes willfulness. We can’t quit things just because they are hard or challenging. We must be sure that we are not being lazy. If our goal is to run on the treadmill for a half-hour and we are starting to feel tired, we shouldn’t just get off and call it quits. Some things require us to push through. We must be honest with ourselves about what we want and the reasons why. However, it we find that we have given it our all and we still are not happy then it is time to end it (quit.) Trying something out and realizing that it is not what we want and having the courage to end it is a learning experience.
Sometimes quitting is the right answer, and sometimes it is not. The lesson is in understanding that it is okay to say “no” to something and that it is not a failure.