“Winners never quit and quitters never win” (Vince Lombardi 1913 - 1970)

“ I  quit school in the sixth grade because of pneumonia. Not because I had it but because I couldn’t spell it."  (Rocky Graziano 1919-1990)

"I'm more proud of quitting smoking than of anything else I've done in my life, including winning an Oscar."  (Christine Lahti 1950 - )

The more  I thought about the topic of “quitting” the more I realized that there are many different ways of looking at it than the simple assumption that a quitter is a loser. Hence the three quotes above.  

When I was younger I always subscribed to the beliefs that you finish what you start, you don’t give up till its done,  never quit… and on and on. But life experiences have taught me that sometimes quitting is the smartest and bravest thing to do. When you come to realize that a course that you have undertaken can never have the outcome that you believed it would have, nor the outcome that you want,  it takes a brave person to acknowledge it, change your course and move on.

Graziano’s comment is funny. I have no idea when he did quit school nor the time nor special interest to read about it.  I just love the quote. But he was born to be a champion in the boxing ring, not in a spelling bee so quitting an environment of failure to pursue his life's goal makes sense. How many people battle on in situations that don’t serve them  well, square pegs in round holes, because they are afraid to admit to themselves or to others that they really hate what they are doing?

And then there are situations when you absolutely MUST quit. Smoking, drug use, gambling. Again some of the hardest things to do. In these cases "winners quit and quitters win"   Hmmmmm. Comments anyone?