4 outcomes of quitting

It’s rare for me to admit I’m quitting on a goal. Usually I’ll just let the goal slowly fade in the rearview mirror as I drive away, talking about something new. I think this is because if I admit to myself that I didn’t achieve my goal, I’ll be a failure. But if I simply let the goal out of the car and forget about it, well, that could be for any number of reasons, right?

There are four possible outcomes when you set a goal. You can either achieve it, you can fail it, you can quit it, or you can quietly stop talking about it. Achievement and failure are concrete outcomes. Quietly stopping is the path of least resistance, because it doesn’t require a decision. Openly quitting is the most difficult, because it has the sting of failure, without any of the social rewards for trying. 

Sometimes quitting is the right choice. But it’s difficult to know that, because there’s always doubt in the back of your head. “Am I just being a wimp?” These are all stories in our heads. How can we write a story that best serves us?