When to Quit

Never! I know that sounds trite. Everyone says “never quit,” but sometimes you’ve got to know when to fold ‘em, right?

I’m not even going to try to be funny here. Most of us have been through times when it seemed the only sensible option was to quit. Sometimes the decision to keep going seems too painful and even at times vain. Most of us will experience this moment of decision again; should I keep going or would surrender be the better part of valor?

The problem is that when you keep going in the face of adversity there is absolutely no guarantee that you’re going to succeed. Yes, I did say that! You want me to be nice or you want me to be honest? No matter what secret movie or seminar you’ve watched that’s the truth. As an author I can’t guarantee that you’re going to succeed just because I told you that staying the course greatly improves your odds of success. If I’m speaking to you I may be able to share some of my enthusiasm for the battle but if I were to tell you that if you keep going despite all odds you will succeed I’d be lying.

The fact is that no amount of positive thinking or even positive action can absolutely guarantee a successful outcome. There are no guarantees at all!

There’s only one way to guarantee a predictable outcome: QUIT! When you quit you know the results instantly: Failure (note the capital “F”).

There are alternatives to quitting:

1. Tactical re-deployment: Take your resources, drop back and re-deploy your energies in a new direction.

2. Retreat: Sometimes it’s best to lay low for a little while, put some distance between you and your enemy and rest your troops. I don’t like this option, but I’ve learned to honor it!

3. Full Frontal Attack! Damn the torpedoes and all that; simply put your head down and charge into the line. Sometimes the extra push will get you through.

Finally, you can decide that your tactics or strategy should change. There’s no shame in recognizing that a particular strategy didn’t work. You can take what you’ve learned into the next campaign.

Some people might say that all I’ve done is mess around with semantics. Guilty as charged! However, if you’re of the mindset that words are not powerful you better find some new words! Have you ever marked yourself as a quitter? How does that feel? Change the language to “tactical re-deployment” and suddenly you’re looking for new opportunities. Words are important; words are the connecting point between ideas and realities.

Next time you feel like quitting just apply these three steps:

1. Assess the situation; sometimes it’s useful to retreat to do so.
2. Re-deploy or change your strategy.
3. Get back into the fight.

You may choose to fight a different enemy, on a different day on different ground. Once again there will be no guarantee of success; but the only way to assure a specific outcome is to quit. Personally, I will not accept that outcome; I’ll take my chances!

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