Sorry Mr. Lombardi. The world isn’t a bunch of football players getting ready for game day. It’s full of regular people trying to find joy in every day things. There’s not much hype to it. There’s no motto or cliche that can get people out of their dark place. They have to want to leave. They have to believe there is someplace better to go.
Though we’ve all been taught to believe the opposite, quitters win every single time. Their reward is immediate and worthwhile. They simply stop doing what they don’t want to do. They listen to their gut and turn away from the cheers and jeers attempting to push them onward. They recognize the benefits of the continuing are not worth the effort. The decision is uncomplicated.
photo credit: popsugar.com
Take this kid on this chair. He’s a bit unhappy. He likely got yelled at because he didn’t want to swim anymore. Why did he have to? So Mom could have another five minutes of alone time? He’s not thinking about Mom. He’s thinking about swimming. He didn’t care if it was the last day of summer or that it cost twenty bucks to get him there. He just wanted out of the task. Now.
The word ‘quit’ carries quite a stigma. Quitting is bad. Nobody wants to be a quitter. But people stop all the time. They take breaks. They change their mind. We just don’t call it quitting because we don’t want to be stamped with that label. We don’t want to be held synonymous with ‘loser’. Quitters don’t usually quit to sit idle for the rest of their lives. They quit because they trust there is something more suitable to spend their time and energy on. Even if it’s rest or a paused period of re-thinking. It takes just as much courage to STOP doing something than to start. Need proof? Ask a junkie.
‘Being finished’ is probably the kindest and truest definition of quitting. You’re done, and you’ve decided to stop. You dictated the terms, not the task. You asked why and came up empty. You did what you were supposed to do and remained unfulfilled. You were finished being convinced. You listened to yourself and acted on your own behalf. You won by quitting.
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