365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 90: On Quitting in a Smart Way

Quitting  when  you’re  panicked  is  dangerous  and  expensive.  The  best

quitters are the ones who decide in advance when they’re going to quit. You

can always quit later — so wait until you’re done panicking to decide.

—Seth Godin

 

85

They  say  that  quitters  never  win,  and  winners  never  quit.  However,

quitting is sometimes more beneficial than stubbornly sticking to something

that’s not working for you. The key is to quit in a smart way — as the result

of a process of logical thinking, not on a whim in the heat of the moment.

For  example,  after  a  couple  of  years  of  sticking  to  a  bodybuilding

routine I’d grown tired of it. I was often so annoyed during the workout that

I wanted to stop it and go home. However, doing so would have allowed my

temporary  state  of  mind  to  make  the  decision  —  and  that  could  have

negatively  affected  my  resolve  in  similar  situations  in  the  future  where,

having  once  allowed  myself  to  quit  on  a  whim,  I  would  consider  it  a

sensible thing to do again.

I took my time and carefully considered the implications of giving up

bodybuilding  before  I  finally  parted  ways  with  it.  This  way,  I  quit

strategically instead of impulsively .

If  you’re  currently  discouraged  with  a  certain  goal  of  yours,  make  a

decision that you won’t quit until you can make a logical, educated decision

that  will  take  into  account  all  of  the  repercussions  of  doing  so.  After

carefully  considering  your  options  and  their  logical  consequences,  if  you

still want to quit, you’re probably making the right choice.

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