If at first you don't succeed--QUIT

3 ways to evaluate if it is time to BUH-BYE

Photo by Eden Constantino on Unsplash

I’m a big believer in quitting.

A quit’advocate if you will.

A woman who’s BRAZEN enough to leap to her feet and announce she doesn’t agree with the adage:

A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.

I also believe quitting can be simple as leaning on our intuition.

When we are wholly honest with ourselves we *know* if fear or laziness motivates our desire to abandon pursuit of a goal OR if we have simply reached the end of the road.

I’ve quit many, many things in my 55 years and, even with the benefit of hindsight, I regret none of them.

I quit bodybuilding.

All of that quit’vocating said, I do possess a checklist of sorts which I go through before I commit to the quit.

An exercise which serves as a way to affirm I’m not quitting out of fear and that ceasing the activity/project is the correct course of action.

My process is simple.

📌 I measure what I want to quit against three ideas:

1. Is___ still a goal/endeavor I long to do?

Just because something was once important to me does not mean it still is.

I remind myself of the fluidity of life and of the fact it’s OK to shed/quit even good habits when they no longer serve me.

2. Will this quitting provide space for new experiences.

If I’m holding on tightly with both hands I cannot receive or experience more.

I ask myself if quitting XXX will increase the margins in my daily life and potentially open me to new and different opportunities.

3. Is this quitting self-care and/or intuitive living?

   Is it loving myself enough to not fret about what others think?

   Is it tapping into my gut & knowing quitting is right for me?

   I sit with/challenge myself and I trust my answers.

Side bar: Since I’m an adult, I feel compelled to clarify I never “just quit” when my actions could negatively impact others.

I recently stumbled upon some research which holds a clue as to why I, unlike many, never struggle with “bad feelings” when renouncing a goal or commitment (paraphrased):

People who are able to let go when they recognize something as an unattainable or undesirable goal have less depressive symptoms, less negative affect over time, lower cortisol levels, lower levels of inflammation and develop fewer physical health problems.

Now read that again.

The key to experiencing better health according to the research?

Letting go.

AKA quitting.

Quitting is simple (“I’ve loved my time here—unfortunately I can no longer…”).

Quitting is complicated (I’m profoundly grateful my parents never let me quit playing the clarinet even when I begged to stop).

Quitting might just be best summed up by W.C. Fields.

And you?

• Are you a Stick With It Sally or a Quitter McGee?