The Quitting Way
(Page 2 of 4)
September/October 1996
Evan Harris
No matter what the inspiration, quitting takes a lot of work. The smug security of the anti-quitter must be avoided at all costs. The first step is to consider the panoply of quitting options:
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- * Job quitting. Leaving any labor, paid or unpaid.
* Person quitting. Giving up seeing, talking to, writing to, admiring, tolerating, wishing well, caring for, banking on, being amused by, being changed by, or loving any person or group of people.
* Thing quitting. Forgoing inanimate objects, food products, and anything animal, vegetable, or mineral.
* Locational quitting. Leaving a city, town, country, etc. Not the same as moving. (All locational quits are moves, but not all moves are locational quits. The locational quit does not necessarily have anything to do with the actual place the quitter goes, but it has everything to do with the place the quitter has left behind.)
* Idea quitting. Eschewing ideas, psychological conditions, or emotional states.
* Habit quitting. Eradicating the doing of something that you engage in as a matter of course on a regular basis. This generally involves quitting behavior that is bad for your health.
Most quitters begin with a measure of native talent, but even the most gifted quitters need working methods. Style is everything. Some quitters are born with it; others have to learn it, sometimes embarassingly, by trial and error. For those in search of a quitting style, or bored with the one they've been using, here are some techniques to add to your repertoire. Remember, the cardinal rule is this: Always quit while you can, but consider quitting the minute it crosses your mind.
1. Be Reasonable
This maneuver is good for beginners and for insecure quitters who worry about seeming flaky or childish. Calmly outline all the reasons you should quit whatever activity is coming up on your quitting screen. Be really grown-up about the whole thing. If you are quitting your job, write a detailed letter explaining your rationale, then arrange a meeting with your boss and deliver the news in a sober manner. If you are quitting your lover, sit down and explain reasonably that it's over. Do not scream and yell.
2. Change Horses Midstream
Don't be intimidated by the anti-quitter's fixation with consistency. Don't worry about seeing things through or sticking with your original plan. Take your inspiration from Michael Jordan, who quit basketball at the height of his career to play minor league baseball only to turn full circle the following year and return to the hardwood.
3. Quit Bit by Bit