Thread by @AnnieDuke

QUIT shouldn’t be a dirty word.

In the popular mind, quitting means failing, capitulating, losing. Quitting is a weakness, a vice. 1/

In comparison, grit is a virtue. Perseverance builds character. In fact, it is character. The ones who stick with it are the heroes of the story. 2/

But it shouldn’t be this way, where grit is good & quitting is bad. Context matters. If you stick to something that is no longer worth it, like a dead-end job, a toxic relationship, or a stock that’s a loser, there’s nothing wrong with quitting. 3/

In fact, in those situations, there is everything right with quitting. 4/

A common misconception about quitting is that it slows or even stops your progress toward your long-term goals. Actually, the reverse is true.

Contrary to popular belief, quitting will get you to where you want to go faster. 5/

Anytime you stay mired in a losing endeavor, that is when you are slowing your progress. Anytime you stick to something when there are better opportunities out there, that is when you are slowing your progress. 6/

Having the option to quit and using that option well creates success because it makes it possible to combat the uncertainty you face whenever you make a decision to start something. 7/

When you make a choice, there is usually a whole bunch of stuff you don’t know. After you have started down a path, you’ll learn new information. 8/

We’ve all had that feeling of, “If I knew then what I know now I would have made a different choice.” That’s the uncertainty that comes from how little we know hitting us in the face. 9/

Quitting is the tool that allows you to make that different decision when you learn that new info. It gives you the ability to react to the changing landscape, improving & calibrating your decisions beyond what’s practical – or even possible–when making your original choice. 10/

And that’s why quit shouldn’t be a dirty word. 11/11