A life lesson that isn't often taught is the value of quitting. One would need to add a few caveats to this, but there are many times in life where the best course of action is to simply quit.
If you try a new hobby, but discover that it isn't doing much for you - quit. If you begin reading a book for pleasure, but a few chapters into it you decide that its not as enjoyable as you hoped - quit. If you've developed a habit that does far more damage than good - quit.
Some might argue that once you begin a course of action, you should always follow it to its necessary end. But that's just stupid! In behavioral economics, there's a concept called the sunk cost fallacy. Basically it says that people have a tendency to continue down a certain path if they feel they've already invested too much time, money, or effort in the endeavor. The reason this is a fallacy is that the best thing you can do when you realize you've gone down the wrong path, is to turn around, no matter how far you've gone. If you've already wasted money on something, why continue to waste more? If you've already lost time to a lost cause, why lose more? And if you've already put blood, sweat, and tears into something that's less than optimal, why not find something better to pour your energy into?
Another thing that sometimes makes it hard to quit is the pressure that others might place on us. We might worry how we will look in the eyes of our peers. We may want to save face. Quitting is an admission that we, to some degree or another, made a mistake. One of the reasons pride is such a deadly sin is exactly in cases like this. It takes humility to change course, but isn't life about learning. None of us know it all. Sometimes the only way to find out is to try and fail. But once we discover failure is inevitable, the best course of action is to learn from our mistakes and then move on. And if we genuinely learn from our missteps, then the journey was well worth it.
Back in August I joined a cohort of other students to pursue a Masters of Divinity degree. I already have a Masters of Arts in Theological Studies, but decided to go ahead and tackle a second Masters. Though my grades are good, one and a half semesters into this three year journey, I've decided to call it quits. I won't bore you with all the details, but my decision comes down to a simple question. A couple of nights ago, my wife Juli asked me, "Is the time and energy you are putting into this really worth it to you? Is what you will get out of it, worth what you are putting into it?" I paused, considered, and then a moment later, it dawned on me. No. No, it isn't worth it - at all! At that point, I knew the only course of action was to quit.
So, I'm a quitter and I'm proud of it! What about you? Is there anything that you need to quit? If so, do it. You'll be amazed at the sense of relief and peace that two simple words can bring. I quit! - Shay
