“Never Give Up” Is Actually Terrible Advice

Sometimes you should quit.

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I’m a quitter.

I quit piano when I turned 12. A few years later, I quit karate. Then I quit cello. I quit debate team. I also quit track and cross country.

After college, I quit rock climbing.

I’ve quit tons of things.

I’ve quit at least seven jobs.

I hated them.

Usually I’ve quit because I wasn’t any good. Other times, I got bored. I lost interest. Something else grabbed my attention.

I love quitting.

Giving up can be good for you.

I never had one of those dads.

You know, the kind who supports you know matter what. The kind who believes in you and gives little inspirational pep talks.

Mine told me to quit.

I ran varsity track in high school. It was everything to me. I ran twice a day, on top of weight training. I read running magazines. I counted carbs. The night before a race, I always had trouble sleeping.

I cared too much.

I wasn’t the fastest runner in the state, or even on my team. I was somewhere in the middle, but that wasn’t going to stop me. I…