The Bravest Thing You Can Do Is Quit | NYT Opinion

It’s been a brutal few years. But we’ve gritted through. We’ve spent time languishing. We’ve had one giant national burnout. And now, finally, we’re quitting.

We are quitting our jobs. Our cities. Our marriages. Even our Twitter feeds.

And as we argue in the video above, we’re not quitting because we’re weak. We’re quitting because we’re smart.

It echoes what the 18-year-old singer Olivia Rodrigo expresses so profoundly when she laments, “I’m so tired that I might quit my job, start a new life, and they’d all be so disappointed, ’cause who am I if not exploited?” Perhaps it’s fitting that younger Americans like Ms. Rodrigo and the extraordinary Simone Biles are barely old enough to rent a car but they are already teaching us about boundaries. They’ve seen enough hollowed-out millennials to know what the rest of us are learning: Don’t be a martyr to grit.

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[lindsaycrouse]

Hi I'm Lindsay Crouse, a producer for NYT Opinion. What's something you quit and never looked back on? What's something you've been thinking about quitting but haven't taken the leap yet?

[XMysticHerox]

Changing my field of study in university was one of the best things I ever did. Yes perseverance is good at times but forcing yourself to do somthing you don´t really want to is just just going to break you in the long term.

[rossamundbrennan]

Quitting is about listening to your body and mind and figuring out what you need in the moment. Athletes are often pushed to their limits to succeed and end up with permanent injuries as a result.

[dadozygaming]

I quit my doctorate degree and profession. I had the top GPA in my department with full scholarship, and I threw away 7 years of university education and gave up my field to start over earning minimum wage as a video game tester while I had no knowledge of the industry nor any relatable skills. Strangely, it was the best decision I made. People like to complain how working minimum wage is stressful and demeaning, but it was actually fun and challenging. I was happier than I've ever been in my life, and I had more money than I needed. We don't NEED a lot of luxuries. 11 years later, I'm still a video game tester, and I have no regrets.

When I was working hard being the top of my profession, I was unhappy. I even managed to make the front page of my city's newspaper, but I was super stressed out all the time. I learned that the rat race never stops. There will always be someone better than you no matter how hard you try, and the more you succeed, the more pressure people put on you and you become afraid of letting people down. If you're a game tester, people have less expectations of you. You become invisible, which is amazing. You don't have to worry about important people reporting on your failures to the media. You just work, enjoy life, be happy.

Would I ever return to being ambitious? Not in the classical sense. Instead, I will claim that it's ambitious to settle for a simple life. Not everybody can have a simple life with no drama. We always want more, more, more. It's ambitious to actually want less.

[McLKeith]

For most of my life I was a brute force kind of guy. When I went to advanced education, I worked really hard. By the end of the school year I was exhausted. I now realize that taking breaks and enjoying the process would have made me more creative, served me better and I would likely have gotten better grades.

This is not an example of quitting and changing direction. It is about quitting working to hard.

[MooCow]

Obviously, what Simone did was incredible and it has sparked a vital conversation, but also, her withdrawing likely saved her life. She could have been seriously injured or worse had she continued. I am so proud of her for doing what is right <3

[MadShenans]

It’s all about balance. On the other end of the spectrum, I know far too many people who are chronic over-promisers and under-deliverers. People like this need to quit less, and learn to promise better.

The true power of quitting gives one the time, space, and energy to honor his or her most important commitments, especially in cases where one’s decision to stay or go affects others who may be relying on the person.

[tallyamiram]

“Sometimes giving up is the strong thing, sometimes to run is the brave thing, sometimes walking out is the one thing that will find you the right thing”
~ Taylor Swift

[danspencer]

My wife and I have decided we don't want children. We're going to tell them tonight at dinner.

[RachelDavis]

I hope workers quitting sparks a change in how workers are treated in this country and wealth inequality. Workers are valuing themselves and saying they aren't going to keep doing the same jobs because that's how it always been - hope it continues.

[BlueBaron]

Few things enraged me the way the reaction to Simone Biles did....on so many levels. She'd spent her childhood and half her youth not quitting. She'd earned the right to leave the sport she had redefined. Yet people who'd never followed the sport found an opportunity to advance many agendas - not a one had *anything* to do with perseverance. Thank you for this video!

[amila_]

I’m honestly so glad to see this cultural shift that’s happening

[ayleenreyes]

My mom was a teacher and she quit after 17 years, everybody judged her, but now she hasn't worked for 8 years and living her best life

[GratitudeGriot]

quitting and retiring is not the same. and yes RBG definitely should have retired to influence her replacement.

[matthewhendricks]

I quit college after my brother died in a car wreck. A year later, I started living in my car, and I ended up living in my car for the next three or four years. Recently, I joined the National Guard and after Basic Training and AIT, I’m going back to college, but with a much different major. My life would definitely look different if I hadn’t quit college. The years in between would’ve been different, who I am now would be different, and who I am looking at becoming in the future would be much, much different. I’m not sure that I made the best decision for me when I quit college. Financially, it was 100% a bad decision. But I experienced so much personal growth because of my decisions, and I wouldn’t give that up. I wouldn’t give up my experiences or the things that I’ve learned from them.

[sgarrita]

I can’t believe anyone thinks “never quit” is a good life choice … to each his own I guess …

[Nobody-womb]

As a special Ed teacher who is having panic attacks and nightmares about my job, I really needed to hear this.

[mariac]

Quitting for fear of failure is always a bad idea.

[lky]

Retreat has been a military strategy for many centuries and for good reason. What we are missing here, is the opportunity to talk about mental health, stress and depression in particular. She could have made an excuse like a physical injury is the cause but she was brave to acknowledge her mental health would have only got in the way of the team. That’s a team member making a sacrifice of a medal for honour amongst the team. I hope her team mates come out in support of her.

[GioiaMancuso]

OMG... Thank you so much!!! In five minutes I had the answer finally! A brand new perspective of life! "Quitting is not giving up" and it takes a lot of courage to do it. Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️