Is Quitting Always Losing?

I hate quitting, and I rarely do. Is this due to my ego? Is it because of my strong desire to always succeed? Is it because I hate admitting that I have weaknesses?

Why is moving on to a new journey always perceived as quitting? Why is it so necessary to label separating from a journey as quitting? Moving on is hard. You don’t want people to think you quit and you don’t want the perception placed on you that you couldn’t complete the task you were working towards. But is it always a bad thing to “quit.”

I am currently starting a new journey, I am starting out on my own, creating a business that aligns with my morals around health, and trying to use my gifts to add some light to the world. But, this means that I have to part from my current path and start a new one. The world views this as quitting, but I am trying to view it as the start of something new and not quitting the old journey. This is hard to overlook. There is so much shame tied to it, and maybe part of that is just my ego, but at the same time I know that I have to do it to give myself a shot at achieving my dream.

How do you come to terms with losing? In ultra running this is the dreaded “DNF” (did not finish). Luckily I have not had to experience this feeling yet. While I have come close to giving up and taking a DNF, I have always somehow managed to pull through. This is a great feeling because I know that I have the drive to finish, that I can dig deep and pull myself out of tough situations, and that I have the strength to keep going no matter how much pain I am in, but part of me kind of wishes I had a DNF. I know how I react to the pain, misery, and tears of the battle, but how resilient am I to defeat? That is what scares me.

The start of my new journey means quitting my current job, admitting that I was not fit for the challenge, and having to find the will to start a new journey rooted in defeat. Do I have the resilience to keep my head high? Will I let the dread of defeat cloud my vision for what's next? So many questions and so many more answers that I am seeking, but isn’t that just part of the race of life. Don’t we all have to live with defeat? Don’t we all have lessons to learn from past failures?

Is failing always bad? But, doesn’t all success begin with persevering through failures? Well… yes, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I have faith that I will succeed, I believe that I have what it takes to break through, I have hope that this new path is the one that I am supposed to be on, but fear is always trying to break in. Fear is always checking to see if the door is unlocked. It is the thief of hope, and is checking 24/7 for a way to break in. 

With all that said, my perception on quitting is being altered. I once thought all quitting was defeat, but now I am starting to see that quitting with positive intent is the start of success. I look forward to quitting this old journey because I am so excited to start the next one. A DNF is way better than a DNS (did not start).

What defeat is lingering in your mind? What can you quit to start succeeding? How can you turn your DNF into the start of a new race? I hope that you can take these losses and turn them into wins and I hope that you use the lessons you learned as strength for the next journey.

Quitting isn’t always bad… Hold your head high… and keep… moving… forward!