Big Push

Vince Lombardi once said:  “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

He also said: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

Do you believe in those quotes, or not so much?

When I was a little girl, I played softball, starting at a very early age.  I was lucky enough to have an organization called North Riverdale Little League.  For young girls, at that time in history, we had a lot of weight.  We were good little ball players too.

But before every game, every single game, we heard the National Anthem, and then we said the Little League Pledge.  It went….
I trust in God
I love my country
And will respect its laws
I will play fair
And strive to win
But win or lose
I will always do my best.

It never talked about quitting.  But it did talk about doing your best.  Always.

So back to the Quitters never Win and Winners Never Quit.  Do you buy it?  Or do you get the image of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football over, and, over, and over again… and at just the last moment, Lucy pulls it out from underneath him.  And he falls on his @ss every time.

The ship just caught on fire, and it is sinking.  What do you do?  You signed up to swab the decks?  Do you get busy… or is it matey overboard… I hope the mop floats.

I guess you are guessing that I am thinking about quitting as a topic.

I think quitting is okay, when the thing you are doing, turns out to be bad for you.  Like smoking, or drinking. I quit both of these things a while back, because neither one was very good for me.  So I laid ‘em down.  Yep.  I quit.

As with anything else, I suppose it depends on the circumstances. Ahh…. those pesky circumstances.

Sometimes we need to stick with “the thing.”  And other times, we need to leave it alone.  The trick, is knowing the difference.  I am never sure how that comes around, I just know it should feel right in your head, your heart, and your soul… simultaneously.

As much as our culture tells us to “stick” with something, persevere, push through, hang on, or hold out….there may be times when quitting is what is needed.  Withdrawing from an unpleasant situation can actually act as the first step to a positive change in our lives.  It can even be quite liberating.

However, knowing just when to switch directions is a “really big biggie”….. in that….  it is the difference between being senseless and sensible in our decisions to quit.

And when in doubt, that old Little League Pledge offered a bit of good advice.  “I will always do my best.”

 

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

— Lao Tzu