Quitting is a Choice

Imagine, you are in your early-50’s and a traveling salesperson going from restaurant to restaurant selling commercial kitchen appliances. Up until this point in your career, you have bounced from job to job, sometimes selling supplies like paper cups, other times exploring different industries like being a radio DJ. But about 20 years ago or so, you began selling these appliances to restaurants all over the country with consistent results, but not exactly achieving your aspirations. In other words, you want more! You are tired, frustrated, and otherwise uninspired by the work you do. This is exactly where Ray Kroc was when he received an unusual order in 1954 from a single hamburger joint in San Bernardino, CA for 8 milkshake mixers. This was an unusually large quantity of mixers for a small burger stand, so Ray decided to go visit and deliver these machines in person. When he arrived at their stand, he saw a very standard operation of the era. 15￠ hamburgers, shakes, French fries, and the like. But strangely, all the food was served “to go” and it was served up in mere minutes which amazed Ray. This little spot owned by the brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, had invented an efficient model that would, under the future leadership of Ray, reinvent the food industry and eventually become the 麦当劳 restaurant chain we know today.

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In his book Fanatical Prospecting, Jeb Blount says this:

Quitting is a choice. Most people when faced with challenges quit too soon—often right as they are on the cusp of success. This is especially true with salespeople in new sales jobs. Starting a new sales job and taking?on?new?challenges?is?frustratingly?hard.?There?are?many dark?days when you feel like all you do is fail and there is no hope. As you get closer to breaking through, things actually seem bleaker. You are tired, beat-up, and worn-down. It is at this point that mental toughness in the form of faith and persistence takes you the last mile. Winston Churchill said that “when you are going through hell, keep going.”?Faith?is crucial. Faith that?by?doing?the?right?things?every?day,?the cumulative impact of these actions will pay off. Faith keeps you focused on?your?goal?when?no?tangible?evidence?exists?that?the?hard?work you?are doing will get you there.?

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Ray?was tired, beat-up, and worn down from traveling the country for over 20 years selling restaurant appliances, but he refused to give up on himself. This commitment to always pressing on, is what allowed him to take one more order, an order that changed his life, an industry, and the world forever. How many times have we each found ourselves on the verge of giving up? Maybe it’s a challenging period in our careers, or a hardship in our own personal lives. Maybe it’s a fitness journey or working through evolving an aspect of our lives. Whatever it is, the further we press on, the more challenging things may become. And that’s where we have a choice – keep going and achieve our goals or quit.

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Here are a few ways to make that decision clearer:

• First, we must decide if quitting is the right option – Is what we’re challenged by good for us long-term? Is what we’re challenged with aligned with our morals and values? If the answer to either of these is “No”, quitting just may be the right move (read more here about how to quit when necessary). But if the answer to those questions is “Yes”, it’s time for us to figure out how to keep going.
• All things are temporary – As I heard time and time again as a kid, “this too shall pass.” The challenges we’re facing? They’ll pass if we keep going. The exhaustion that seems to never end? It’ll end with rest and by continuing on. The lack of motivation that seems to haunt us? Motivation will return if we keep going against our vision/goals/commitments. Back to Winston Churchill ?“when you are going through hell, keep going.”?
• Get back to the inspiration for starting in the first place – Something prompted us to get started on the thing that now begs us to quit. Maybe it was a moment of creativity or a spark of excitement behind a lifestyle change. Whatever it was, go back to that moment and think about all the energy and motivation that led you to get started and dwell on that until you are re-inspired. Reminding yourself of your “why,” hyping yourself up, and thinking about how far you’ve really come will likely be enough to reignite that spark.

Quitting is always a choice. When it’s not the right and healthy choice, choosing to not quit can be really hard, but with a few moments of reflection and some self-motivation, we can keep taking steps forward, no matter how small they may be. But taking those further steps is exactly what unlocks the success we’re after.

Keep going!