The Power Of Quitting
Hi, my name is Jessie. I am a Holistic Nutritional Health Coach and I’m a HUGE fan of quitting things that are not good for me.
I have worked in a lot of different places in a lot of different roles. I have been a trainer in countless gyms and organizations, a floral assistant, a photographer’s assistant, a paid musician, a nursing student, a real estate agent’s assistant, a receptionist, a soccer coach, a strength coach, a social media-er, a website updater, a group fitness instructor, a writer, a “coffee girl”, and a retail employee. I was even paid one time to do one of my roommate’s laundry, but I’ll save that story for another day. 80% of those things I no longer do - which means I have quit a lot of things. And I have to say, it is repeatedly one of the most empowering things I do.
Quitting gets a bad reputation. We are taught as children to persevere and to see things through. Quitters are often equated to losers. I think there is a lot of value in learning to persevere as young, impressionable humans learning to navigate the pressures of society, but I think one of the benefits of becoming an adult is that we get to choose when to persevere and when to walk away. Quitting does not mean one is a loser. Quitting is in the same league as learning to say, “No,” and setting boundaries. There will be plenty of times when it truly is the best option.
I am a big believer in trying a lot of things, so I create a lot of opportunities to quit. I seem to be one of those people that needs to experience a wide variety of things to understand both myself and the world around me. Again, it’s not that I think quitting is always the best choice, but quitting all of the things that are not truly what I want has helped me to identify what is worth fighting for. Every job I’ve tried has taught me something important about myself and a part of society or the world that I didn’t know about before.
I know it’s time to quit something when I tune into my physical and emotional state and find nothing but angst and turmoil. I trust my guts. When I am waking up in the wee hours of the morning with intense anxiety - it’s my body telling me that something is not going well. When I start noticing that I am giving all of my energy to trying to solve one particular “problem” and don’t have the energy to give towards more satisfying or productive areas of my life, or I notice that I am venting (ahem, complaining) about the same thing over and over…it’s time for a change. And sometimes the best form of change is to speak up and walk away from the source of all of that angst and consuming energy. In other words, it’s time to quit.
This decision never comes lightly. It is usually accompanied by steadily increasing amounts of pressure that only ease once a choice is made; it is an extremely uncomfortable process. But I believe it is worth it. I am not one of those people who has always known exactly what I want to do, or just followed a “passion”. I have to figure it out another way. The gut and body feelings are signals that something is good for me or it is not. It takes practice to trust these feelings and diligently choose to pursue the good ones. Those are the ones that lead us to the full body YES. The thing, or things, that finally feel like just the right fit.
Be willing to quit. Take your time deciding. Be brave and honest in your communication. Be curious enough to explore until you find a YES. Chase that YES with all you have.
As a Holistic Nutritional Health Coach, I can guide you in examining all the aspects of your lifestyle, from nutrition to exercise, creativity to career, and everything in between to help you decide what is best for you, whether it includes quitting things or not.
Cheers,
Jessie
Originally posted April 30, 2021
