This statement was posted on my sister-n-laws Facebook page and it got me thinking.
At the Banff Film Fest, a film was shown about 4 guys who adopted wild mustangs and rode from the Mexican border to Canada. The trip had most of the weather elements plus dessert, thick brush, and narrow trails along cliff ridges. After all they had been through, including the loss of one of the mustangs, they finally see the Canadian Border. Then one of the guys decides to quit. He had no physical ailment, his horse was still strong, he simply decided to stop and not cross the border. His friends were furious, confused, dumbfounded. Why would he quit? After all that he had just achieved and all that together they had been through, the border is right there!!! The film never went on to explain why. I’m guessing for most of us, this demonstrates the meaning of quitting, to stop, to discontinue. Some would call him a quitter and others would ponder on all the philosophical reasons in which he in the movie says “I can’t explain why.”
For those of you who at any point of your life was a part of a team, how often have you heard a coach yell out “We are not a bunch of quitters!” And how often a negative connotation is associated with the word “Quitter” What about in life moments, remember in Eat Pray Love when her husband yells at Liz and her divorce lawyer“I said till death do us part…quitter quitter quitter!”
Some things simply need to end. This is how I differentiate between the two. To quit is to simply be done. No more effort. No more thought. Be done with it. If after this, it is still lingering and you are hearing whether it’s a grade school/old school PE teacher, your parent or the high school bully, then look at it in a different mindset.
To surrender. To “let go and let God”. To let your thoughts words and actions be guided by love and then see what happens. This is when I also bring up the idea of intentions and goals.
My career path story included 4 years of working, going back to school and applying to be a physical therapist. My intention was to work with people motivating and empowering them to have a healthy body. My goal was to be a physical therapist. I was already an aerobic instructor, personal trainer and massage therapist. I thought putting all of this together would be a perfect career path for me. Each year I would do more, learn more, accumulate more experience and each year the closest I ever got was on the wait list, 800 applications for 36 openings.
After the 4th year of rejection, my ego was so destroyed because not only did I not get in but I decided to QUIT. I felt everyone looked at me as a loser and a failure so I decided to move and that is how I ended up in CLE. Looking back what I realized I did was SURRENDER. I decided to visit friends in bigger cities and see what felt right. I arrived in CLE and the first visit while working out at a Bally’s I was approached to be a trainer. Then an opening presented itself at another gym. And everything started to fall into place. I still had challenges but they gave me an opportunity to grow and I was being true to my INTENTION, which now 21 years later has expanded to a tag line, Providing the tools and motivation to live your inspired life with nature and wellness. I have combined all my knowledge in fitness, massage, yoga and positive psychology to help others.
I have decided to take the negative connotations out of words such as quit and failure. When you make a decision, almost immediately you get a body sensation that will say Yes! No! or (hopefully not) “OH SHIT!!!” And in those moments bad judgement or failure occurs, simply look at it as experience. It may be an athletic endeavor, a job, a relationship or just a task around the house, maybe you need to quit first to free yourself from whatever in order to surrender to whatever. Every now and then we get a little nudge that says “Hey! Do this and see what happens.” The question is, are you even in a place where you notice it.