I’ve always held onto the notion that quitting was the easy thing to do. That it was a cop out. I believed that perseverance, discipline, strong-will and determination were the formulas to success in anything and everything I did; quitting was equivalent to failing. In fact, I believed there weren’t any justifiable reasons to quit no matter how bad things got.
But in recent months and especially with my move to Toronto, I’ve learnt that’s not always the case. I’m again reminded of how absolute statements are almost never the right attitude to have (yes, I almost made an absolute statement about absolute statements).
One fundamental flaw with those that have an attitude of “I will never quit” is that we are not very adaptable and often unwilling to change. Despite clear warning signs, we become stubborn and refuse to quit even when it makes sense to. We often become proud and wave our banners that boldly read “don’t give up, don’t ever give up” to help inspire us to keep on going. We hang on boasting about our tenacity as if it was a virtue, motivated by vague hopes that our efforts will lead to some sort of success. Even if we already know that success is no where near the path that we’re on. We may drag our feet but we won’t give up.
I’m not saying we stop or quit at the first sign of trouble. Anything that is worthwhile in this world is not easily attainable. Challenges are inevitable. Successful (and I understand that word means different for everyone but bear with me) people will usually attribute their success to at least one of four things: hard work, luck, passion and persistence.
But there comes a point in time when an honest evaluation needs to be made on whether it’s the right idea to keep going down a certain path. I can certainly pinpoint moments in my own life where such an evaluation would have helped. My last job, for example, was a nightmare yet I refused to give up because I thought quitting was too easy. I figured that all the hours I was putting in would somehow pay off down the road with career advances and large bonuses. The company ended up going broke and everyone was laid off. Looking back, it was clear that the warning signs were all there. The constant push for more billable hours, the incentives to find more clients, the lack of vision from the executives and the list goes on. The company wasn’t sustainable and despite knowing it, I refused to give up only because I thought quitting was a cop out. My college years and even my last girlfriend share a similar story but I think I’ve made my point.
Yes, there are numerous inspirational stories of how “never giving up” resulted in wild successes and no, this post isn’t meant to encourage you to quit at what you’re doing now. I’m just trying to say that it is foolish to not quit simply because it isn’t in your character to. You may be missing out on some incredible opportunities because of your stubbornness and unwillingness to call it quits.
