When to call it quits

Most people will try to achieve something in their lifetime. Many will take on a challenge beyond their capability. After facing so much failure, will you call it quits.

For example, I was going for a very long distance cycling trip. The leg start to cramp after 120KM. It cramped so bad that I can't even move my leg. I decided to push on after resting till the cramp goes away. 20KM later another cramp started again. I rested again and continue. A third cramp started after just 3KM. This time it is on both legs. I can't even walk. Luckily I have stopped at the traffic light and there is little traffic. Do I call it quits? It is just another 17KM away to my destination. I pushed on and completed the route.

That is only a simple example. What about people like Abraham Lincoln? He lost 8 elections, failed business twice, get rejected in job applications. He is the typical example of those failed many times but in the end succeeded.

Obviously you only see those who succeeded. What about millions others who tried but never succeed? So when it is time to call it quits.

Actually, there is no such thing as "call it quits". How would you know if your next try won't turn out to be successful? But, I am not saying that you must keep on trying. Many will give themselves a limit. If that limit is reached then they gracefully let it be. Now that is not equal to quitting. Who knows when there is a new opportunity to try again? It is better than just quitting it all together. By letting go, it could also stops your mind bottleneck and fresh ideas may come out after a rest.

In my programming work, I used to hit bottlenecks. No matter how long I tried, the result just won't come out correctly. I stopped and try to do something else, after a while fresh ideas came right in and I am able to complete it exactly as expected. If I had quit then I will never get the result and settled for something less.

Do try to achieve what you wanted but don't push yourselves so hard that you keep repeating the same mistake and become stagnant with no result in view.

I like to end this note with an anticlimax. In this world there are still people who believes that the earth is flat. They stuck to the idea despite overwhelming proof that it is otherwise. Don't be such people. Accept that you are wrong in the first place and quit already.