{"id":790,"date":"2017-03-22T18:21:15","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T18:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=790"},"modified":"2017-03-22T18:21:15","modified_gmt":"2017-03-22T18:21:15","slug":"the-courage-to-quit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/03\/the-courage-to-quit.html","title":{"rendered":"The Courage to Quit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"running<\/a><\/p>\n

There is an old saying that goes, \u201cQuitters never win, and winners never quit.\u201d What rubbish.\u00a0 Now, of course, if you have goals or dreams that you wish to accomplish, you shouldn\u2019t stop pursuing them just because you hit bumps in the road.\u00a0 Obstacles are a natural part of the journey when trying to do something great.<\/p>\n

But we do need to quit some things. In fact, my biggest regrets in life are having not quit certain things sooner.\u00a0 For instance, my first marriage lasted for 12 years, when it should have been over in half that amount of time.\u00a0 By the end, my husband and I couldn\u2019t even stand to be in the same room together.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we both had been trained to believe that \u201cquit\u201d is a four-letter word (obviously, it is literally, just not figuratively).<\/p>\n

Our society has a neurotic attachment to the notion of \u201csticking with it.\u201d For instance, people like to refer to Bill Gates as a \u201ccollege dropout.\u201d\u00a0 It is a ridiculous way to look at his academic career.\u00a0 The more accurate way to look at it is that Bill Gates went to Harvard for two years, after which he and his friend came up with a great idea for a company (Microsoft).\u00a0 So, he decided to stop wasting his money on tuition because he\u2019d figured out his career (which is the entire reason one goes to college).\u00a0 Bill Gates didn\u2019t \u201cdropout.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped giving Harvard money (tuition) since he didn\u2019t need Harvard anymore.<\/p>\n

Quitting is only bad when it hurts you. But very often, it helps you.\u00a0 My biggest professional regrets are having stayed with certain jobs longer than I should have.\u00a0 I always have been very loyal to my employers.\u00a0 However, in in this day and age, employers are not loyal to their employees.\u00a0 Employee loyalty typically is not reciprocated.<\/p>\n

The stumbling block for many of us is our egos. For example, no one likes to admit that they have made a mistake in picking their spouse, their career or a place to live.\u00a0 But remember that none of us is perfect.\u00a0 There is no shame in making mistakes.\u00a0 However, we don\u2019t want to compound those mistakes by continuing them indefinitely.<\/p>\n

It is important to bear in mind that life is short. We do not know how many days we will have on this earth.\u00a0 All we know is that the number of those days is finite.\u00a0 And the days that have been given to us are blessings from God.\u00a0 We, therefore, have an obligation to spend those precious days wisely.\u00a0 Languishing in a bad marriage or a dead-end job is not a good use of the time that God has given you.<\/p>\n

It takes courage to quit in a society which worships the qualities of loyalty and sticktoitiveness. I believe in those qualities too \u2013 within reason.\u00a0 So, if you are going to quit, you are going to have to be prepared to endure the judgement of others.<\/p>\n

The concept of quitting reminds me of the Gospel of John 15: 1-2:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same way, we too have to trim the branches of our own lives that bear no fruit.<\/p>\n

Do you have situations in your life that you need to quit? Ask God to give you the courage to do so.\u00a0 You don\u2019t do yourself (or anyone else) any favors by staying in situations that aren\u2019t working.\u00a0 Be courageous and do what is necessary to live your best life possible.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is an old saying that goes, \u201cQuitters never win, and winners never quit.\u201d What rubbish.\u00a0 Now, of course, if you have goals or dreams that you wish to accomplish, you shouldn\u2019t stop pursuing them just because you hit bumps in the road.\u00a0 Obstacles are a natural part of the journey when trying to do…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Courage to Quit - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/03\/the-courage-to-quit.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Courage to Quit - 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