There is a difference between quitting and giving up. Quitting is actually a good thing, or can be a good thing. I think quitting and giving up are two terms that are used in the same way a lot, however there is a distinct difference between them. Quitting is stopping what you’re doing for different reasons. For example you may have started or taken on a task, a crucible, etc. for all the wrong reasons. Maybe those reasons are ego, and once you’re in the middle of it you realize that you weren’t prepared for this. You could also quit because of the possibility of some real danger, or even false expectations. Whatever it may be, there is usually a good reason to quit. Now I’m not condoning quitting, especially in the School of Grit. We try to develop mental skills and emotional strength. These things that will see us through the end of whatever we have started.
Giving up is all together something different. Giving up is stopping because of discomfort you know maybe you’re in the middle of a marathon or whatever it is that you’ve decided to take on and “Oh it hurts! I’m tired! I’m gonna give up!” No, you decided, you trained and you did everything you had to do. You can’t just give up because you’re feeling a little discomfort or lack of motivation, or a type of adversity. Whatever it may be, there is a distinct difference between quitting and giving up. There is a term, quinjury, that comes to mind. A lot of people will quit in the middle of something with the excuse that they are hurt. There is that mental block that goes on where people will exaggerate that discomfort and turn it into an injury and that’s how we came up with the quinjury.
I do believe there is a distinct difference between quitting and giving up. It is important to have a strong why. If it’s a job, a relationship, you need to know where that fits in your overall mix of what your purpose is in life, and align with what your passions are, what you stand for and what your principles are.What’s your reason for doing it? The reason for being in the relationship, or your reason for that job. I’ve quit a ton of jobs,and it’s all been for good measure. Does that make me weak? No. I don’t think it does at all. In fact sometimes you have to get comfortable at saying no a lot more.I think as human beings we have a tendency to say yes to everything and we only have so much time. Quitting is a form of saying no. In Bob Gogh’s book “Dream Big” he states that “Quitting actually gives you the room to say yes to things that actually matter.” This is a great way of looking at it and choosing the things that really resonate with you or at your core value system. It is totally cool to quit if it’s for the right reasons, because things change and you’ve got to be able to pivot. Maybe you started off on a project or a relationship and you suddenly realize it’s toxic now, it’s time to go! Just evaluate the scenarios yall are in and figure out if quitting is actually the best thing to do.
Giving up though? Completely different. I view giving up as alright this is completely 100% tied into what i want to do or what i feel i should be doing with my life. You know you’ve got that strong intrinsic reason why it will mesh with your purpose. Adversity is going to hit. When you give up on something, know that those are the ones that always stick with you. You will always remember those because you probably shouldn’t have given up.
It just feels different when you quit, you don’t have that regret when you quit for the right reasons, you don’t have that regret. You made a decision to pivot and possibly pursue something better. When you give up it hurts twice, it hurts when you do it, and it hurts again when you think about it.You have that regret. I wish I could have finished, I can’t believe I was so close to finishing and you will realize that the reasons why you gave up were just excuses. So it feels different, and you know that.
