Summary

The author distinguishes between the acts of quitting and giving up, emphasizing that while one may quit a specific endeavor, it is possible to persevere in the pursuit of one's overarching passions despite setbacks.

Abstract

In a reflective essay, the author delves into the nuanced difference between quitting and giving up, drawing from personal experiences in sports and writing. Despite facing a severe sports injury that forced him to quit playing, he never relinquished his love for sports. Similarly, in his writing career, he experienced multiple moments of quitting, but always returned to his craft, underscoring that quitting is often a strategic decision to change circumstances, while giving up is a final surrender, which he believes is not inherent to writers made of "sterner stuff."

Opinions

The author believes that the aphorism "winners never quit and quitters never win" is an oversimplification, as there are circumstances when quitting is necessary.
Quitting and giving up are distinct concepts; quitting may be part of a broader strategy to succeed, while giving up signifies complete resignation.
Athletic pursuits and writing require determination, grit, and constant work to improve, but the author suggests that passion can withstand temporary setbacks, including career breaks or injury.
The author asserts that the writing profession is fraught with challenges and that almost all writers consider quitting at some point due to the solitary nature of the work and the difficulty in dealing with its inherent highs and lows.
The author maintains an optimistic

The Difference Between Quitting And Giving Up Can Be Virtually Imperceptible

It all depends on how you perceive it

How many times have you heard the idiom winners never quit and quitters never win? As a sport enthusiastic child growing up, it quickly became my mantra during those exhaustive two-a-day football practices in the grueling Texas heat.

Back in those days, I wasn’t one to quit, but I remember the day I gave up. You’re probably reading this right now wondering what the difference is. Although it may seem imperceptible at first glance, I’m here to tell you the difference can be huge.

You see, I loved sports: basketball, football, baseball, volleyball. If there was a ball involved, I was all over it and having a ball.

Sorry, I had to go there.

Anyway, as you ballers in this world know, to get better at all these “ball” games, you need concentration, determination and grit, and constant physical conditioning to get to various levels of competency.

At one point, I possessed a modicum of all four of the basic tenets.

Until I didn’t.

In my sophomore year in high school, I blew out my right knee during a Friday night football game. By blew out, I mean, severely tore my posterior and anterior cruciate ligaments, and partially tore my medial collateral ligament. Basically, my upper and lower right knee joints were being held together by a single ligament.

Not cool.

After surgery, I was in a wheelchair for six months, then a cast from my right ankle all the way to mid-thigh for another three months. But that was okay, ’cause most of the girls thought I was pretty nifty and were willing to carry my books and help me up and down the stairs at school.

When I think about it now, I realized those girls really didn’t give two nickels about me. They were just practicing their nurturing skills.

But not being a quitter, I was bound and determined to heal and get myself back in shape for the oncoming season. I went through all the offseason torturous physical therapy sessions and the weight training to strengthen my legs and my body.

I worked bloody hard but to no avail.

I never got to play the game in my senior year. One particular practice I damaged my knee again, and after a thorough physical check-up was told by an orthopedic specialist, my sports days were effectively over.

That day although I had refused to quit for so long, I realized I was going to have to give up. But I didn’t give up. Oh, don’t get me wrong I had to quit playing, but I never gave up my passionate love affair with sports.

You see, the difference between quitting and giving up is sometimes subtly imperceptible, but there is a noted difference. How many of us have quit a job? I have.

Sometimes because the current employment was so toxic, it sucked the life right out of me. Sometimes because I needed to advance my career. I quit, but I never stopped trying to get better pay or a more improved working environment.

I never gave up and took the apparent path of destitution and poverty.

As a writer, I know what it’s like to just quit. I totally understand what’s going on when another of my sister and brother writers tell me they’ve had it, they just can’t do this anymore. I feel their pain because I’ve felt their pain, and it ain’t pretty.

There are few highs in this passion of ours and more than our share of depressive, almost intolerable lows. Each of us carries our own burdens within the solitary confinement of our own minds. We are alone together if that makes any sense.

And sometimes it becomes almost impossible to continue.

How many times have I simply pulled up hard and quit writing? More than I can count — even with a calculator. Admittedly I can’t say I haven’t quit, but I have never given up on this writing thing.

I once quit writing for almost ten full years. Yes, you read that right, ten years. But the entire time of my “separation,” I never gave up on that tiny spark of an ember burning inside telling me to write, just pick up the pen and starting writing again.

And here I am, writing this.

If you’ve never truly examined the difference between quitting and giving up, and have always surreptitiously lumped the two together as meaning the same thing, trust me, they aren’t. You can quit something many times, but I assure you, you’ll more than likely give up on that particular something only once.

Because to me, giving up ultimately means full capitulation, complete surrender. It implies submission and acknowledgment we’ve let something bend our wills and overpower us completely.

For a writer, I don’t believe that’s possible.

I believe with all my heart, we writers are made of sterner stuff. Yes, there are times when we’ll take a step back and quit, but I don’t believe any of us are willing to give it all up.

So do quitters ever win? Possibly, if you understand, it’s okay to quit sometimes. Do winners ever quit?

All the time, they just never give up.

Thank you so much for reading. You didn’t have to, but I’m certainly glad you did.

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