I’m very good at quitting things i shouldn’t and very bad at quitting things i should. Reversing that is a real journey. Though I stick with ditching math too.
Totally agree with you, Will. I once worked in a steel mill. After coming very close to getting killed two times in three days, quitting was definitely the right choice.
I walked away from law school three weeks into the first year and one night before the first quiz. Cost my parents a few thousand bucks they could have really used for other things, but over the years I’m pretty sure I paid them back and I think even my dad would admit it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
The main thing is to be able to realize that the situation is beyond repair, and that you have more to lose than gain from gritting your teeth and putting up with "the slings an arrows of outrageous fortune" for another miserable time. Maybe there wouldn't be as many mass shootings if more people heeded your simple advice. Maybe there wouldn't be as many burnt out hulks sitting on the off-ramps of life. That's a simple, ordinary realization that you've highlighted for your readers.
Bravo! I tend to hang on way too long. I am terrible at tennis, but kept playing even after the instructor I paid every week looked annoyed when I showed up and stopped trying to teach me anything. Instead I upped my practice time until I wrecked my knee and my orthopedist forbid me to continue. I had been hoping for a miracle, that triumphant movie moment...
Once I did not quit because I had a pay or play deal. I wanted them to fire me. It was totally toxic. They did fire me and tried to negotiate out of the POP for a lesser amount. I did not quit and made them pay it all. But I would have quit the toxic PA job you had in a NY minute! Quitting is hard and culturally hammered into us that it’s a bad thing. You are so much healthier in your philosophy.
How about quitting a toxic boyfriend? Does that count? I think so. Led me to the love of my life. I think you may know him...
Absolutely counts! Exactly the kind of quitting I had in mind!
I’m very good at quitting things i shouldn’t and very bad at quitting things i should. Reversing that is a real journey. Though I stick with ditching math too.
Idk man you've done some very good quitting since I've known you
Quitting smoking after 14 years. I’ve been nicotine free for 3 years now :D
btw that PA story sounds like a nightmare.
That’s huge! Congrats! And yeah it was absolutely my least favorite PA gig
Totally agree with you, Will. I once worked in a steel mill. After coming very close to getting killed two times in three days, quitting was definitely the right choice.
Seems like you made the right choice! Writers' rooms are slightly less dangerous
"Sometimes I think [quitting is] the most grownup mature thing you can do!"
That's what I'm saying! A true measure of a man is knowing when he's been licked! And I have been licked more times than a Tootsie Pop!
I quit college after one year to get married and begin adult life with a job. It turned
out to be the best "quit" decision I could have possibly made (Jackie has not weighed in however).
I walked away from law school three weeks into the first year and one night before the first quiz. Cost my parents a few thousand bucks they could have really used for other things, but over the years I’m pretty sure I paid them back and I think even my dad would admit it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Hey, I wouldn't be writing these essays if you'd stuck with law school...I probably wouldn't exist at all! Therefore, I'm a fan of quitting law school
But it is true you would have been a great lawyer!!
It takes one to know one!
The main thing is to be able to realize that the situation is beyond repair, and that you have more to lose than gain from gritting your teeth and putting up with "the slings an arrows of outrageous fortune" for another miserable time. Maybe there wouldn't be as many mass shootings if more people heeded your simple advice. Maybe there wouldn't be as many burnt out hulks sitting on the off-ramps of life. That's a simple, ordinary realization that you've highlighted for your readers.
Thank you! I just think that picking your battles can be just as important as grit. You can't die on every hill after all
Bravo! I tend to hang on way too long. I am terrible at tennis, but kept playing even after the instructor I paid every week looked annoyed when I showed up and stopped trying to teach me anything. Instead I upped my practice time until I wrecked my knee and my orthopedist forbid me to continue. I had been hoping for a miracle, that triumphant movie moment...
Once I did not quit because I had a pay or play deal. I wanted them to fire me. It was totally toxic. They did fire me and tried to negotiate out of the POP for a lesser amount. I did not quit and made them pay it all. But I would have quit the toxic PA job you had in a NY minute! Quitting is hard and culturally hammered into us that it’s a bad thing. You are so much healthier in your philosophy.
So true! Nice piece, Will!