I Want to Quit
I want to quit. For the past two weeks, every morning I have woken up with the same thought in my head. “I want to quit.” Every. Damn. Morning.
I want to quit because I’d rather play videogames and watch Netflix than do stuff that scares me.
I want to quit because I have no idea what the next sentence of my ambitious book should be. And by the way, it was a mistake to start one in the first place. I don’t know enough. I am not famous enough. This will be a waste of time.
I want to quit because I have no idea how to approach that complex problem at work. And no, I’m not good enough for that either. Plus, it’s not as exciting as it was when I started now that things got tough.
I wan to quit because sleeping feels good.
I want to quit because it is much easier and satisfying to feed off other people’s work than do my own.
I want to quit because I will never be one of the big players.
I want to quit for these and a million other reasons, but I don’t.
I don’t quit because I wake up every morning knowing that I can make a difference for the people I am working for. Not just my employer, but all of humanity. I can save them time, I can make their lives easier and happier.
I don’t quit because there are people who have it much, much worse than me — and they don’t quit either.
I don’t quit because I would be useless without my work. I can only exist as part of a community, to which I intend to give back for all the amazing opportunities I have received so far.
I don’t quit because challenges should be just as exciting as they are scary and experience tells me I can overcome them. It’s just a matter of time and effort.
I don’t quit because people rely on me and I won’t let them down.
I don’t quit because today is a shitstorm, but tomorrow might just as well be the best day of my life, and I would never know if I quit. Shitstorms are what I signed up for anyway — normal is boring.
I don’t quit because I can’t see myself doing anything else in this moment. This is a painful, necessary step in life. I know most steps will be painful, and that’s fine — entropy works against me, but it can’t win.
This is a message for myself more than others — but if you, like me, want to quit every day, know that it’s perfectly normal. Elon Musk probably wakes up every day with the same thought in his head.
So what’s the difference between Elon Musk and everyone else? What does he do that we can emulate?
He doesn’t quit.
Don’t quit.
When things get tough, keep pushing until you’re on the other side.
When the tide is against you, keep swimming until you reach the shore.
Things will get tough again tomorrow. Tomorrow, you’ll be in open sea again. Be okay with that. Understand it’s how life is — it’s a sign you’re on the right path, so don’t stop because of a few obstacles on your way.
Don’t quit.
