Don’t Quit When It’s Hard. Quit When It ...
“How am I going to get 15 hours of training in this week?”
I asked myself this mid-August.? As I’ve shared earlier this year, I was training for a full Ironman.? I was also bopping around the country delivering keynotes, working on my next book proposal, and trying to enjoy a few more summer days with my kids before my oldest went back to college.
It was then I realized I wasn’t.? I wasn’t going to get 15 hours of training in during the week - it was impossible.? I then thought, “Maybe you can just wing it?”? Meaning, be less-prepared for the race. I then thought about “winging” a 2-mile swim, 100 mile bike ride, and then a marathon.? I realized that’s how people die.?
I then took a peek at my calendar and asked myself, “Do you have 60 hours to invest in training for the next month?? And if you did have 60 free hours, would investing in training be in your best interest - is it aligned to your most precious goals?”
The answer was an honest, and humble, “no.”? So, I just quit.? After several months of training, I abandoned my goal.? And it felt, well, surprisingly liberating.
I’ve told myself forever that I’m not a quitter - maybe you’ve said that, too?? I don’t take quitting lightly.? Quitting in life has never been my problem.? Clinging to goals that no longer serve me?? Doing more of the hard things that I already know how to do?? Those are my problems.
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In “Bet on You,” we have a saying - You don’t quit when it’s hard, you quit when it sucks.? Training didn’t suck, per se.? What sucked was only having 24 hours in the day and the reality that I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do, so I had to make a values decision.? Those aren’t always easy, but when they’re made you get a huge sense of relief because it’s the right thing and suddenly you find yourself aligned with your best intentions.
So, let me ask you this: What sucks in your life right now?? Or, asked another way: What are you doing that no longer serves you?
Only you know when to quit.? It’s hard to see when we’re engaged in behaviors that no longer enhance our life.? But when we let them go?? Huge relief.? Can it be scary?? Sure.? But you can remind yourself that fear is often a significant sign of progress. You can’t be courageous and not feel fear.
Good luck on the quit.
Angie Morgan is the NY Times Best-Selling author of SPARK, Bet on You, and Leading from the Front. Learn more about her work by visiting www.angieconnect.com.
Finance Manager | Serial Expatriate
3 个月Sometimes it's only a feeling (that can be based on your capacity), but completely agree that you are the only one who can feel that it's time to let it go
Highly Skilled Fire & Public Safety Services Professional
4 个月A very insightful article. Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective on evaluating whether to stick with a goal or let it go.
Supply Chain Manager
4 个月… [l]ooked in the mirror twice in my life and said, “You can’t do this anymore…” … am in a Much Better Place - on both accounts.
Revealing insights, driving solutions for optimal business outcomes. Strategy Alignment & Execution | Business & IT Strategy Alignment | Governance Design and Execution for Results
4 个月I really like your honesty here Angie. I think it's really the mark of effectiveness (as a human or an organization) if we know when to let go and do so before it gets in the way of other things that really are more important.
VP, Strategic Communication & Engagement @ First American Title | MBA
4 个月Congrats on quitting! Boundaries and priorities are important and sticking to them (and reevaluating them) are important qualities in a leader. I like to think of this as “capability versus capacity”. Do you have the capability of training for Ironman? Absolutely! But do you have the capacity right now? And do you have the capacity when you consider your priorities at this moment in life? You made the right call, and Ironman will still be there if you decide to tackle it again. But you’ll thrive at your other goals in the meantime.