Comments on: The Winning Attitude of Quitters

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:40:01 +0000

Quitting. That is a tough one for me, most definitely. I will always remember forcing myself to read Germinal by Emile Zola one summer – so I could tackle a “classic” – a story of the unimaginably hard life of miners with so much violence. I hated every second that I read, but I wouldn’t let myself quit it. I had set a goal and I would reach it, goddamnit. So this was a great blog to read, Em. You’re right- quitting is a choice. Realizing you have reached your limit. Or even making that decision BEFORE reaching your limit – and it’s all good. It’s even healthy. What have I quit… lately… ever…??? Piano lessons, ballet lessons (we’re talking 30 plus years ago). Maggie has not quit much. Thanks to Carey, she doesn’t take on too much, either. Quitting in a new light – thank you!

By: rjga13

rjga13 — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 01:32:09 +0000

I am a big believer in “life is too short to do things that make you miserable”. Some things are hard, but worth it. Some things are bad and you have to do them – like essay tests and the dentist, but mostly I can quit without guilt. I am struggling with the kid thing right now with my high schooler. Are they quitting b/c they are out of their comfort zone or b/c it is a different group of kids (not always a bad thing) or b/c they are truly miserable. Not sure where that line is. Just doing it by gut these days…

By: goofdad

goofdad — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:01:59 +0000

It’s absolutely OK to quit. Like Kim, I try to teach my kids about loylaty and committment … if you signed up as part of a team, you finish as part of a team, and then don’t sign up next year if you decide not to.

I must confess, though, that this is one area where I’m setting a bit of a double standard. I’m not letting Topher quit much of anything right now. However, that’s mostly because he’s been left on his own to raise himself for so long that it doesn’t want to be involved in anything. If I’d let him, he’d happily lock himself in his room and play computer games, or phone games, or do nothing than get out and be around people.

But, in general, quitting is absolutely acceptable. I love your litmus test … spot on from my perspective.

By: jennifer

jennifer — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:11:15 +0000

I am a huge proponent of cutting your losses. In this way, I position quitting in investment terms and this transforms it into a positive. I’ve joined and quit a few nonprofit boards in my time, before finally realizing “I hate meetings and I’m never voluntarily signing up for more of them again, ever.” See Kim’s comment above, which made me laugh. I quit my very first job out of college, which I started in early July, in early September. I knew it was wrong for me and what was the point of pretending? As Americans, our lives are full of choices, often to an absurd extent. I prefer to think of “quitting” as “choosing” more important or pleasurable activities, and thus imposing order on all the chaos of all the choices.

By: Kim Shimer

Kim Shimer — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:16:12 +0000

I can soooo relate to this one. Several years ago I was volunteering ad nauseum and I finally reached a point where I said “enough.” I quit my position on the board of Abby’s preschool where frankly I didn’t give a damn what was happening and it was sucking the life out of me. I do have a tough time with the kids and quitting though. Abby recently quit gymnastics after a measly (and expensive) three lessons. But since Abby had never quit anything before and has many interests, I let it go. In general, our rule of thumb is, if you make a commitment to a team, you need to stick it out for the season. If it’s a solo activity like karate, you need to commit for a set period of time and then you can quit if it’s not for you.