Not to sound too preachy, but it seems people these days give up too easily. That is why it is so cool that we are in another running boom. Running is hard to do, even when you get decent at it. It is hard to keep up with, it is scary when you race, and more often than not it is wildly frustrating to improve at. A small wonder that more and more people are choosing to compete in a variety of events from 1 mile road races to ultra distances.
So what causes us to stop doing things? What causes us to quit? Why might this be a good thing?
Last weekend, my friend Devin and I took what is a now annual trip to Colorado. We are halfway through the fifty-four 14,000′ peaks that the state contains. Some of them are close together and you can hit multiple summits in a single day. Others are incredibly remote and require backcountry camping. Some are a walk in the park, others require some technical climbing and route finding ability. Regardless, the challenge is out there and we are doing pretty well for a couple of flatlanders.
We attempted Mt. Harvard and Mt. Columbia last weekend (we had climbed Mt. Yale the day previous). Round-trip hike was 13 miles and change. Stout, but not horrible. Elevation gain and loss was going to be 10,000’+ though. We ended up summitting Harvard but were not feeling the traverse over to Columbia.
Like a lot of things in life, you have good days and not so good days. The question is when do you back off. If we stopped every time “it” got difficult, we wouldn’t do s**t during our lives. Sometimes you fail at something. Sometimes you just simply need to give up.
Most people I hang out with HATE to quit. Maybe that describes most people in general. We just keep going, we are stubborn. Even if it might be to our detriment. Why? What wiring do humans have to cause them to not want to give up? The cool thing that experience gives is, well, experience. It is okay to stop, and here is why.
-Live to fight another day. Sometimes stopping allows you to continue going ahead on a different day.
-When you might get hurt. In Colorado last weekend we could have likely trudged our way through the connecting ridge. But sun softened snowfields, loose rock, and the always impending mountain thunderstorms caused to head on down and enjoy some beers.
-When it might be better to be doing something else. Of course there are very few things that are worth doing besides running, but that is another conversation.
I am rushing to get this done tonight as I get ready to head out on a road trip, where I will take on a running dream I have had for 4.5 years now. But a final thought on quitting. Go ahead and quit, there is generally no shame in it. The most important thing to keep in mind is that when you do abandon an effort, reflect on it. What did you learn? What did you learn about yourself? What can be applied or filed away for other parts of your life?
Grit means not giving up. It also means learning from you experiences and applying that to attempts at success later in life.
Inspiration->
Freakonomics: Upside of Quitting