I was terrible at basketball, but still, I played all throughout middle school. In eighth grade, my friend laughed when I said I had tried out for the team again, assuming I was joking. I’m not sure what it meant, and I’m not sure if it increased my overall happiness, but I did not quit that year.
Most of the time, quitting is synonymous with giving up. Quitters are often seen as lazy and unmotivated, throwing out opportunities with a lack of gratitude.
If you quit an organization, you didn’t have what it takes. If you quit a team, you gave up because you weren’t immediately a rockstar. If you quit almost anything at all, you did so too soon and without a good enough reason.
We all think we understand this taboo subject of quitting. When we’re good at something, we judge others for quitting. We sometimes assume they either didn’t put in enough effort or weren’t innately good enough. But when we’re bad at or just don’t like something, we get defensive, fearing someone might call us a quitter. And no one wants to be a quitter.
Weirdly enough, however, quitting a job is often associated with liberation and empowerment — going against all other negative portrayals of quitting. In TV shows, it is exciting to watch our favorite characters finally get the courage to rid themselves of such an all-consuming burden.
We crave dramatic quitting scenes where someone finally tells their jerk boss how horrible they are and then walks out with newfound confidence. In this case, quitting is taking charge of their lives and doing what’s best for them — even though it’s terrifying.
It’s simply encouraging to think about someone leaving behind the security of a steady job to pursue a happier, yet unknown future.
If quitting a job is associated with courage, it’s strange that pretty much all other forms of quitting are looked down on. When someone quits a job to leave a negative environment or free themselves from an overly stressful, deteriorating situation, it’s a good thing. So this same principle should be applied to any other form of quitting.
Whether that’s a political role, an extracurricular responsibility or a leadership position, quitting is an individual choice that does need the additional stress of judgemental bystanders.
There are plenty of genuine reasons to quit. In fact, sometimes it can be the best thing you can do for yourself. When you are deeply unhappy, your time is spread too thin or you’re wearing yourself out, quitting is a healthy decision to make.
It is the opposite of lazy. It is taking productive action to improve your wellbeing.
That being said, there’s a reason why quitting has such a bad reputation. Persistence is an admirable skill and definitely something we should continue to value. Sometimes, quitting is the easy way out — it is less frustrating than continuing to do something we’re not good at.
But if you always wanted to be an actress, for example, you shouldn’t quit theater just because you didn’t get a huge role in the play.
If you’re determined to improve your painting skills, don’t get discouraged by the talented artist sitting next to you. It’s brave to stick things out. It’s empowering to keep going even when something is hard and frustrating. Quitting should not be an impulsive decision.
At the end of the day, I’m glad I stuck with middle school basketball. It was a good way to keep me out of my comfort zone, develop skills of perseverance and learn that it’s OK to struggle. At the time, quitting was not the right decision for me.
But that doesn’t mean quitting is bad or wrong or a sign of laziness. It should be a personal, well thought-out, confident decision. An individual decision. A decision free from the restrictive, confining and negative connotations of the phrase, “I quit.”
