Quitting is underrated

http://www.insightoftheday.com/quote.asp

Some time ago I signed up for 'insight of the day'. It's a quote, usually motivational and on Friday's I receive a 'story' in my inbox. Today's story is about the power and necessity of quitting.

Here are a few excerpts.

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I think quitting is underrated.

... I was more afraid of what other people would think about my "quitting" than I was about wasting more moments of my life.

And so I happily wasted a portion of my life in exchange for avoiding the criticisms and opinions of others.

The bottom line is that I didn't quit because I was scared. It's fear that kept me paralyzed for years and years.

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•              I am going to quit making decisions based on fear. (Obvious exceptions include any scenario involving hungry wild animals chasing me.)

•              I am going to quit shielding my talents, my skills and my power.

•              I'm going to quit using the trick of "playing small" and downplaying my talents as a way to win approval, validation and attention from others.

•              I am going to quit looking for answers in places outside myself.

•              I am going to quit making "realistic" decisions that steer me away from making a powerful impact on the world.

•              I am going to quit thinking that extreme success is reserved for "other people."

•              And I'm going to quit letting the thoughts, opinions, or insecurities of others direct decisions about my life.

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"Do you have the courage to quit NOW?"

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I've come to view quitting as an important virtue. Quitting something that doesn't belong in your life means that you value your commitment to you above most everything else.

If we all did that, I'm afraid we'd unleash an epidemic of happy and well-adjusted people unlike the world has ever seen.

In an effort to jumpstart such an "epidemic," here's something else I'm suggesting we all quit:

The idea that quitting is in some way a bad thing.

Most people you ask on the street would probably say "quitting" is a bad thing. That's because they've been taught that "Winners never quit and quitters never win."

The type of quitting I'm talking about has nothing to do with what you actually want to achieve in your life. There's no sane reason anyone would quit the pursuit of that.

The quitting I'm recommending applies to all of the other things you feel are standing in your way of pursuing what you want.

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So when's the right time to QUIT?

You quit as soon as you realize that your time could be better spent in another way. You quit the minute it becomes clear that you're living your life for someone or something else instead of living it for you.

In my experience, doing this on a regular basis is one of the scariest things you can do. It brings you right up to the edge of your comfort zone where you're forced to make a choice:

Do you live your life based on how you want to live it? Or do you live your life based on how you think others want you to live it?

Do yourself a favor. Do the world a favor. QUIT something.

Jason Leister