since I can remember I’ve had a complex about quitting. it’s been a bit of a torturous little path my whole life because, at my baseline, I love to quit.
yet, most all the input around me says don’t quit, don’t be a quitter, quitting is for losers, don’t quit 'til its done. as I blindly followed this messaging it had me all outta sorts.
I was the quitter, the loser, the never finish anything girl. but, as Dr. Suess says, I was judging a fish by how well it could climb a tree
I finished my loft project feeling like a cottage-fixer-upper-super hero and realized I had quit so many times during that project. because I had almost zero plan when I started the loft headboard wall most of the quitting came when I needed to figure out the next step.
despite all the quitting spots, the loft still got done and it’s something I’m super proud of.
in fact, I started to see that quitting is kinda vital for me and my particular way of walking through this life.
quitting provides me time and space allowing my creativity to work while I sleep and do other things. because of this space I'm able to think on things and in turn stay more true to my current self and aligned with the future self I aspire to be.
#3 reason to quit
I'm a do-er. I love to make, build, create and do things. I'm my happiest when I'm being led by my curiousity to "see what happens". however my inklings don't always work out how I guessed at the start and a lot of time I need to quit and pivot to find a better way...like I did with my landscape project.
#4 reason to quit
is that I'm a four on the enneagram scale. which means my super power is the ability to feel things deeply. I've come to realize that I feel my thoughts and emotions on another level than most people I know. I also feel the emotions of other people and the energy of my surroundings.
when I'm feeling frazzled, confused, anxious, tired, scattered, unsure or exhausted I know it's time to quit. it might be one of the other three reasons to quit hidden in there but this reason is so that I can rest, reset and recharge. it's called productive rest and it's one of my favorite reasons to quit.
#5 reason to quit
I've come to realize that it takes a bit of delusional anticipation to get some ideas into reality. sometimes this is helpful. sometimes not so much. when the delusion turns out to be bigger than actual return on investment it's typically a good time for me to quit.
the beauty of quitting
nothing is permanent, not even quitting. we can quit and unquit anytime we want to.
we don't know til we try and so there ain't no shame in quitting.
the problem is that it feels so left field of how most everyone seems to think. this makes it hard to quit even when it can bring such positive things into our lives.
building a beautiful life consists of living in a way that feels authentic to who we are.
sometimes we need a bit more time and space to make intentional decisions that are aligned with that. sometimes we make a decision, take some action and realize we need to do something different. other times we may just need a little bit of productive rest to keep building in way that we're proud of. and even still, sometimes we just aren't as fulfilled with our past choices and we're ready to give it up.
I believe building a life we love requires us to embrace the beauty of quitting.
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