Have you heard of Quitter’s Day? I just heard about this for the first time yesterday on TikTok – I didn’t even know there was such a thing.
So I Googled it…. and here’s what I found:
“The second Friday in January is known as Quitters Day as it is the most likely day for people to give up on their new year resolutions. Research conducted by Strava, the social network for athletes, has discovered that the second Friday in January was the fateful day when most quitters’ motivations may begin to falter.”
My first thought was, “That’s terrible & how sad people are so uncommitted they can’t follow through with their goals.”
But then the word nerd in me took over and of course I had to look up the origin of the word quit to learn the real intention and energy of the original word and I was shocked at what I discovered. This is what I found :
The original word Quit is from c. 1200 and meant “excused, exempt, free, clear” (of debt, obligation, penalty, etc.), from Old French quite, quitte “free, clear, entire, at liberty; discharged; unmarried,” and directly from Medieval Latin quitus, quittus, from Latin quietus “free”
Did you catch that?
To quit is to be free.
That’s hard 180 degrees from the quitting I grew up with.
How many of these quotes have you heard?
- “Winners Never Quit & Quitters Never Win” – Vince Lombardi.
- “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong
- “If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit. Never quit!!!” – Michael Jordan
- “I shed a tear when I meet somebody who always quits. Reliable people are so rare in this world.” ― Bauvard
- “Quitting is never an option on the road to success.”– Rooplean
- “You’re going to find the people that make it work NEVER quit, quitting is NOT an option.” – Bob Proctor
I have always been trained to hear “quitting” as a dirty word. Unsuccessful people quit. Losers quit.
Yet nowhere does “excused, exempt, free clear, at liberty etc” do I see loser on that list. There actually doesn’t seem to be any indication at all that quitting is linked with success, wealth or achievement.
So where did we start to associate quitting with losing? And what if what we were told all along about quitting was actually a lie?
What if quitting meant freedom?
What if quitting is really just removing things from our life that no longer serve us? If quitting is simply giving up what no longer aligns with our goals and priorities?
Maybe at the time the things we said YES to were a good YES. But now, in a different season, those YES’ actually are holding us back. Keeping us tied to obligations, habits or promises that are pulling us in the wrong direction.
The conflict is we have been programmed not to quit. To hold on. To stay the course. To not lose.
Now I’m not saying we should quit things just because they are difficult, or not happening in the time frame we expected.
Having personally coached over 1000 women I can say one thing with certainty. I have seen many people give up on their dreams and goals too soon simply because quitting was easier than growth and change. Stepping out of our comfort zone into our dream zone is scary. Quitting can keep us safe and free from the fear of failure.
So to be clear, I’m not advocating quitting something just because it’s harder than we thought it would be.
I am, however, acknowledging that quitting in itself can be a good thing if we are clear on why we are quitting.
It reminds me of a few years ago when I was a delegate on the State and Public Affairs committee for the Junior Leagues of New Jersey. I really loved my time in that position and it gave me the opportunity to advocate for bills and laws that helped victims of violence and assault in NJ. After a couple of years I was offered the opportunity to be the President…. and I said no. And I quit.
It was a hard decision. I loved that I could use my personal experience of domestic violence in a positive way to give back and make a change for other women. I loved that it gave me a platform to have my voice heard and the work we did mattered. But it was also during a time my book had just been released, I had just started moving into the professional speakers space, I was expanding my full time direct sales business and my daughter was still young and needed a lot of my time. I felt I couldn’t do everything and when I looked at my long term goals that position (while wonderful) didn’t align. If something was going to go, that was it.
In that case quitting was a good thing. It gave me the freedom to invest my time where I felt God leading me.
So I dug a little deeper and found some quotes I think are more accurately aligned with the true invention, energy and meaning of “quit”.
“Quitting is not giving up, it’s choosing to focus your attention on something more important. Quitting is not losing confidence, it’s realising that there are more valuable ways you can spend your time. Quitting is not making excuses, it’s learning to be more productive, efficient and effective instead. Quitting is letting go of things (or people) that are sucking the life out of you so you can do more things that will bring you strength.” ― Osayi Osar-Emokpae
And this
“I’m learning quickly, once you quit one thing, it gets easier and easier just to leave situations rather than deal with shit.”
― Doug Cooper
So I challenge you this new year, in honor of Quitters Day, what are you quitting? What no longer serves you that you need to quit this year to have the freedom to do that which aligns with your goals, vision and purpose?
Imagine me over here having a quitters celebration! I’m celebrating you releasing and leaving everything and anything that keeps you from pursuing your best.
So here’s my New Year’s toast to you! I raise my glass and celebrate you …you beautiful quitter!
PS I’d love to hear what you’re quitting! Comment and tell me below!
Tara's Voice 