Never Quit on a Bad Day: Lessons in Grit from the Appalachian Trail

When I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, I learned that perseverance is not just about pushing through; it’s about knowing when to rest, recalibrate, and continue with a clear mind. Hiking 2,168 miles from Georgia to Maine is a monumental task, and with a failure rate of over 90%, the odds of quitting are high. That summer, I encountered an important piece of advice: "Never quit on a bad day."

It sounds simple, but those words carried me through some of the toughest days on the trail. And as much as I love backpacking and spending time in the mountains, there were plenty of bad days. After a picturesque first four days in the mountains of North Georgia, I was greeted by relentless rain—two straight weeks of it. Every step brought soggy feet, blistered heels, and the constant battle against fatigue, cold, hunger, and homesickness. I was averaging nearly 20 miles per day, which only intensified the toll on my body. The Appalachian Trail, with its bugs, steep ascents, and unpredictable weather, is not just a test of physical endurance but a test of mental grit.

That’s when the phrase "never quit on a bad day" took root. A fellow hiker shared this wisdom with me, explaining that it's unwise to make big decisions—like quitting—when you're physically or emotionally at your lowest. His advice was to find warmth, food, rest, and regain a clear head. Then, if I still wanted to quit, I could make that decision with a more rational mindset.

The Mental Games of Endurance

There were times when quitting seemed like a good idea. Two weeks into my hike, I remember seeing a wall map of the Appalachian Trail at a hostel in Hot Springs, NC. It was demoralizing to realize how little progress I’d made compared to the long journey ahead. Maine felt impossibly far. That’s when I broke the journey into more manageable chunks—sometimes it was a peak on the horizon, other times it was just a tree or rock fifty yards down the trail. When a day's planned mileage felt overwhelming, I focused on small, immediate milestones: "I’ll just make it to that tree," I would tell myself, and then pick another tree when I got there. This strategy helped me maintain forward momentum when the entire trail felt too daunting.

On tough climbs, I adopted a different mindset. False summits—those deceptive moments when you think you’ve reached the top, only to discover more uphill ahead—can crush your spirits. So, I played a mind game I've taught my family and friends when we hike: I convince myself that the climb will continue forever. By making peace with the idea that there is no summit, I free myself to focus on the present and enjoy the moment. Then, when the summit arrives, it is an unexpected reward.

These mental tricks helped me build grit—resilience, and toughness in the face of hardship. They taught me how to maintain focus and endurance even when things felt impossible.

The Dark Side of Grit

But grit, like many things, has its dark side. While these mental strategies helped me persevere, they also carry a risk: continuing down a path when it may no longer be the right one. This is where we must be aware of cognitive biases that can lead us astray.

In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman discusses the planning fallacy—a cognitive bias that causes us to underestimate the time, effort, and risks of our goals while overestimating their benefits. In the context of the Appalachian Trail, this bias might manifest as thinking you’ll reach Maine with minimal setbacks, despite the clear evidence of past hikers’ struggles. To combat this, Kahneman suggests adopting an “outside view,” where we assess similar experiences and adjust our expectations accordingly.

Another relevant bias is the sunk cost fallacy. This happens when we continue investing time, energy, or resources into a goal simply because we've already invested so much, even when it’s no longer a wise choice. On the trail, this might look like continuing to hike through pain or exhaustion, believing that quitting would mean all the previous effort was wasted.

That’s why "never quit on a bad day" is a powerful rule. It doesn’t mean never quit—it means don’t make irreversible decisions when you’re in a state of distress. Take the time to recover, eat, rest, and gain perspective. If after that, quitting still feels like the best option, then you can make that choice with clarity and self-compassion.

The Balance of Endurance and Reflection

Grit is essential to achieving hard goals, but it must be paired with self-awareness. The lesson of "never quit on a bad day" is not about blind persistence; it’s about giving yourself the space to make thoughtful decisions. Whether on the Appalachian Trail or in life, there will be bad days. Days when everything hurts, when nothing goes right, and when the journey feels impossible. But those are not the days to give up.

Take the time to rest, reflect, and regain your composure. The climb may feel endless, but sometimes, the summit is closer than you think. And even if it’s not, you’ll know you’re moving forward with a clear mind and a heart full of purpose.

That’s the true essence of grit.