Never Quit is a popular short phrase that we most often use at times without much depth.

Today I want to share with some personal anecdotes and sports anecdotes on the true meaning of Never Quit and the 5Ws of Quitting.

Quitting means: To Cease from doing something.

All of us at some point in our lives have quit something.

Quitting means you admitted defeat or you never wanted that thing as much or there is no wish to struggle for it any more.

Is it ok to quit something? Absolutely.

Especially if it is unrewarding, unattainable, goes against your values or will cause you irreversible harm. Sometimes we quit when there is no motivation, there’s burn out or one simply needs to advance and quitting the place there are is the only option.

Nevertheless, making a habit of quitting is detrimental in the long run. Habits stick. You start by quitting one thing and soon you are a quitter in many other things. The job, the business, the relationship, the weight goals, etc. Quitting becomes a habit. It becomes easier to quit once you’ve tasted the temporary gratification of quitting.

Some of the attributes of quitters: Overthinking stuff, making excuses, craving instant gratification (extra sleep, extra donut or chapati), lack of clear priorities (unclear unsmart goals, and a general lack of consistency). By avoiding these things, one is then able to not be a quitter.

People who don’t quit generally aren’t afraid of a challenge, are optimistic about the future, grateful for what they have, stay inspired and have a strong belief in themselves. They don’t take No for an answer, see a setback as a set up.

I love to use sports personalities for examples because they know what it takes to stay committed to a goal. To train for long hours, endure pain and think of only the victory. Envision success.

Take for example Heather Dorniden in a 600m race- where every second counts….. with 1 lap to go. She stumbled and fell flat on her face. Everyone, by passed her. She got up, fought back and finally won the race. If she’d simply won, without any challenge, she’d have been forgotten.

Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics- gets a muscle cramp and instead of giving up, hops on one leg to the finish line to a 65k spectator standing ovation. Many people don’t even remember the person who won that particular race. They remember Derek.

Charles Kagimu, a Ugandan -273kms at the 2024 Olympics. Against all odds, crossed the finish line as the first Ugandan to participate and complete a long distance bicycle race in the Olympics.

But we are all doing this thing called Life. The thoughts of quitting will attack. You will hear voices in your head.

Give up. You aren’t the first. The government isn’t helping. The boss doesn’t like me, in my family we have big bones, etc.

Don’t listen to those voices. That is the enemy speaking.

There are some things you can do to avoid quitting and stay in the race.

Think about the gains you are making
Find habits you can adopt that can help you persevere
Seek support – find a coach/mentor (business, marriage, life, career)
Build a Circle of genius (you are the average of the 5 people you most spend time with)
Do something challenging so when the going gets tough you remember how you withstood before and can keep going.

Destroy all your excuses of quitting. Stay the course. Don’t be a negative statistic. But in all this ensure you are moving forward. Not quitting doesn’t mean staying still. You’ve got to be growing/Moving. Take a break but don’t quit.

Whatever it takes, DON’T QUIT