I just typed “quotes with quit” into Google and here are some of the results:
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ — Muhammad Ali
If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit. — William J. Clinton
Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit. — Napoleon Hill
Winners never quit and quitters never win. — Vince Lombardi
We will all fail in life, but nobody has to be a failure. Failing at a thing doesn’t make you a failure. You are only a failure when you quit trying. — Joyce Meyer
If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit. Never quit! — Michael Jordan
For the most part, I agree with these quotes.
Most of the success in my life has come after I pushed past the place of struggle and pain. A sound work ethic and persistence are both important.
But there is a big problem with all the “Quitters never win” talk. It builds the unconscious belief that we shouldn’t quit anything. On a subconscious (and sometimes a conscious) level we equate quitting with failure. AND sometimes we make it even more dramatic than that. Instead of saying we have quit (an action), we call ourselves a quitter (as in defining ourselves as such).
There Are Things We Need To Quit!
Sometimes quitting something is the smartest thing we can do.
Some of them are obvious. People want to quit smoking, eating too many sweets, or staying in bed past midday on the weekend.
If a friend told you they wanted to quit smoking, I'm sure you wouldn’t respond, “Quitters never win.” That would just be silly!
But there is a part of us that thinks we have to finish everything we start and that quitting is a sign of weakness, or it questions our integrity because we are not living up to our work.
In truth, there are lots of things in your life that you need to quit doing.
Some of them were never healthy to begin with (like smoking), whereas others started out as helpful, but are no longer.
For example, you might have enrolled in a class because you thought it would help your career, but your goals have changed since you started the class. By staying in the class you are wasting your time and money.
BUT…a part of you won't let you give up the class because of the belief that quitting is a sign of weakness. Quitting signals your lack of integrity. And quitters never win!
I Give You Permission To Quit!
I want you to be a quitter. I want you to give up. I want you to let go of the commitments.
Not all of them. Not even most of them. Just the ones that are no longer serving you.
As you are thinking about this, is there a knot in your stomach? Is there a part of you that feels like you are letting yourself down, your family down, your pattern down, your collaborators down, or your religion down?
If so, tap along to this:
There is a part of me that doesn’t want me to quit…Because quitters never win…And winners never quit…But this is no longer serving me…It is a waste of my time and effort…It is holding me back…I am not quitting it because it is hard…I am not quitting it because it is too much…I am quitting it because I need to be doing something else…Quitting this is not a sign of weakness…It is a sign of strength to let go of something that is no longer serving me…It is OK for me to quit this thing that is no longer good for me…It is better for me to quit…I am not failing…I am crafting the life I want and need to create…I am not choosing away from something…But instead choosing toward something that is serving me.
I love this article as it reflects much of what I have been thinking about for the past year or so. I am 65 years old and realized I was holding on to these crippling beliefs about seeming weak when I want to quit something that no longer serves me. I have begun to get rid of all material things as well as ideas that no longer serve me. I find I have less cluttered closets, less clutter in my storage areas, and less clutter in my thoughts. I can quit things which no longer give me pleasure and lo and behold, there is then room in my life for new ideas and things which do serve me. Thank you!
Another great article, Gene! Quit a few things that are sucking our time, energy, and resources. I love it!
I have found it important to quit relationships that are not good for me. Often that means simply letting them fade away (rather than making a dramatic break). I stop putting energy into them, and they deflate. At first I struggled with this, but Tapping has made it so much easier to get clear and to let go.