There comes a point in almost every worthwhile effort when quitting suddenly looks reasonable.
PAUSE.
That does not always mean stop.
Sometimes it means you have reached the exact place where perseverance begins.
You work hard.
You do what you believe is right.
Things should begin lining up and making sense.
Why not?
You have done this before.
You have seen results from your thinking and doing.
Then suddenly…
something does not cooperate.
Your plan gets rejected.
Your best effort falls flat.
The door stays closed.
And now you are standing at that dangerous little intersection called:
I THINK I’M DONE.
Should you walk away?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
That is why this stage deserves more attention than it usually gets.
DEFEAT IS A WORD…SO IS TENACITY
I like to remind people that we were not put here simply to be defeated.
Problems often come with more than one possible response.
But when we become emotional, frustrated, embarrassed or exhausted, we may stop seeing alternatives.
The mind narrows.
Everything becomes:
YES or NO.
WIN or LOSE.
CONTINUE or QUIT.
PAUSE.
Sometimes the first thing needed is not another effort.
It is CALM.
Objectivity allows another solution to enter the room.
Then there is TENACITY.
That too is a powerful word.
A person who refuses to surrender too quickly often discovers another door, another method, another person, another angle.
If you invite defeat early…
defeat is usually available.
LOL.
Tenacity asks one more question.
Then another.
ASSESSMENT AND ACCEPTANCE
Now let us be fair.
Sometimes walking away is exactly the right thing to do.
But I am reminded to do it for the RIGHT reasons.
Quitting merely because something became difficult is one thing.
Stopping because the facts clearly reveal that continuing would be foolish, harmful, dishonest or wasteful is something else.
That is not quitting.
That is judgment.
A mature person should be able to say:
“I gave this a fair effort.”
“I learned what I needed to learn.”
“This direction no longer makes sense.”
“I am closing this properly.”
That produces much less guilt than abandoning something in the middle simply because discomfort showed up.
Finish what should be finished.
Release what should be released.
Know the difference.
HEADS OR TAILS?
Is the quitting stage the same for everybody?
Of course not.
Circumstances matter.
Commitment matters.
Responsibility matters.
So does risk.
History is filled with people who went beyond what they thought they could endure.
Acts of courage.
Valor.
Sacrifice.
Duty.
Commitment.
People stayed with something because something larger than comfort was involved.
But there is another side too.
Blindly staying in a destructive situation simply because:
“I NEVER QUIT”
can become its own form of foolishness.
LOL.
So the question is not:
Do strong people ever stop?
The better question is:
WHY are you stopping?
WHAT WE DO SOMETIMES
Sometimes we pull in the reins exactly when the horse is beginning to leap.
That is self-sabotage.
We get close.
Very close.
Then doubt arrives.
Fear whispers.
Embarrassment appears.
We begin imagining failure before failure has actually happened.
So we interfere.
We back away.
We change course too soon.
Then later we wonder:
What would have happened if I had stayed with it another week?
Another call?
Another attempt?
Another conversation?
That question can sting.
Do not quit merely to escape the tension of not knowing.
Sometimes uncertainty is just part of the crossing.
THE QUITTING STAGE MAY BE A SIGNAL
This is worth adding.
The urge to quit does not always mean the thing is wrong.
Sometimes it means:
You are tired.
You need rest.
Your plan needs adjustment.
You need help.
You need better information.
You need to reduce the size of the next step.
You need to stop trying to solve the whole problem today.
LOL.
Before quitting…
diagnose the urge.
Am I done?
Or am I depleted?
Big difference.
THE MIDDLE GROUND
Become familiar with your strengths.
Your weaknesses.
Your limits.
Your habits.
Know what you are likely to do when tired, frustrated or disappointed.
Some people quit too quickly.
Others refuse to stop long after wisdom has left the building.
LOL.
Seek the middle ground.
Continue when the mission still makes sense.
Adjust when the method does not.
Rest when the body or mind needs it.
Stop when truth clearly says stop.
Then LEARN.
None of us has ever lived this exact day before.
We are all learning as we go.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
Do not make a permanent decision while temporarily exhausted.
Another:
Before you quit the goal…
try quitting the method that is not working.
LOL.
And one more:
Sometimes perseverance means pushing forward.
Sometimes perseverance means changing direction without abandoning the purpose.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From the spirit of Pearls for the Soul:
“The urge to stop may be the place where your next strength is waiting to be discovered.”
From the spirit of It Is Finished:
“Completion does not always mean continuing. Sometimes it means knowing when the lesson has finished.”
From the spirit of God I AM:
“Truth does not ask you to force what no longer belongs, nor abandon what still calls you forward.”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Persistence works best when joined with judgment.
Blind persistence can waste time and energy, while premature quitting can abandon an effort just before meaningful progress appears.
The useful skill is learning to distinguish exhaustion from completion, temporary resistance from genuine warning, and a failed method from a failed mission.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU HAD ITS CHANCE.
That Pearl dealt with OUTLASTING difficulty.
This one asks a finer question:
When should you keep going…
and when should you intelligently stop?
It also connects with ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME PLEASE.
When overwhelmed, we often want to quit the entire mission when only ONE PART needs adjustment.
FINAL SAY
Getting past the quitting stage does not mean becoming stubborn.
It means becoming wise enough not to let temporary discomfort make permanent decisions for you.
PAUSE.
Assess.
Rest if needed.
Adjust.
Ask for help.
Change the method.
Then look again.
If the purpose still makes sense…
GO.
If truth clearly says the cycle is complete…
finish it properly and move on.
But do not sabotage your own leap because doubt grabbed the reins.
Sometimes the breakthrough is not very far beyond the place where you almost quit.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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