Just QUIT it

“Winners never quit, quitters never win.” This phrase is popular within our society and is continuously portrayed in movies, television shows and other forms of media. Some of us probably heard it from our high school basketball coaches and parents. It seems obvious, right? Clearly the path to success does not include quitting. However, this well-known statement does not always hold true. The current state of society has presented many of us with opportunities to initiate transition in our lives. We are now finally quitting because we are smart, not because we are weak.

During the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the team competition and four individual events to prioritize her mental health. Biles told New York Magazine News, “I should have quit way before Tokyo, when Larry Nassar was in the media for two years. It was too much. But I was not going to let him take something I’ve worked for since I was 6 years old.” This decision quickly spread across the globe and contributed to quitting being viewed as acceptable.

My sister is a recent graduate from Stanford University and is currently taking some time off before starting graduate school. She has a passion for science and graduated with a degree in Earth Systems. This past July, she moved across the country and started an unexpected job working as a middle school science teacher in Harlem, New York. Initially she was excited for this new experience and the opportunity to be working in an environment she had not previously imagined for herself. However, she realized she was not in a healthy working environment and that her mental health was on a decline. After much consideration, taking the well-being of her young students into account, my sister decided to quit her teaching job before the academic year ended. She realized that just “sticking it out” would not be worth her health and she would much rather pursue a path that would keep her waking up happy.

It is easy to become trapped in the momentum of day to day activities and allow the sunk cost fallacy to control life. This fallacy is defined by Oxford Languages as, “the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.” This form of entrapment is often an illusion. We continue to pursue aspects of our lives that are not going well in hopes things will be better in the future.

The opportunity for transition created by the pandemic is providing many with options for deciding what is next. We are quitting jobs, religions and marriages. We are quitting those things that we are supposed to love, but just don’t. Yes, perseverance is important, but we should choose to persevere, not be forced to.

Quitting is hard. Change is uncertain and uncertainty is scary. There is always that fear of regret blocking us from reaching our full potential. However, there is always something. If we never try, how will we ever know?

Winners can quit, quitters can win. Why allow our lives to be controlled instead of controlling them ourselves? Quitting does not inhibit success, but instead has the possibility to support it. I do believe an individual will be more successful in the long-run if they WANT to be doing what it is they are pursuing.

We are supposed to invest in ourselves. We are supposed to be happy. Work hard and overcome obstacles, but do not become trapped in a cycle of life that is nowhere near fulfilling. I think the entire planet would benefit from a few more people making the decision to quit in the pursuit of health and happiness.