Did your New Year’s resolutions survive Quitter’s Day?
Research from a 2019 study by Strava, a network for tracking physical exercise, showed that about 80% of people who made New Year’s resolutions quit their resolutions by the second Friday of January, a date now aptly dubbed “Quitter’s Day.”
This year, that fateful date fell on January 10th.
The word “quitter” can garner a negative connotation because it can imply failure. This stigma is fueled by popular expressions like: Nobody likes a quitter. Winners never quit. Quitters never win.
But those expressions aren’t necessarily accurate. In some cases, quitting can be a path to winning.
People are often surprised when I point out that good teammates are notorious quitters. Their ability to build meaningful relationships and influence their teams’ success often lies in their ability to quit making excuses, quit blaming others, and quit skirting accountability.
To good teammates, quitting isn’t a problem; it’s owning a problem.
Good teammates view quitting as an act of courage requiring self-awareness, self-discipline, and humility. They are willing to take a deep look at themselves, identify behaviors that are detrimental to their teams’ success, and commit to strategies that eliminate any that are.
Additionally, good teammates are willing to humble themselves to seek others’ help in identifying their detrimental behaviors—especially any that dwell in their blind spots.
If you’re struggling to get beyond the negative connotations of the word quit, consider substituting a more benign synonym that implies voluntary choice instead of failure, like resign, renounce, or relinquish.
A good employee would resign if asked to engage in criminal behavior. A good politician would renounce unethical practices. A good patriarch would relinquish control to qualified heirs.
If placed in any of those situations, a good teammate would make the same choices.
Whether you use quit, resign, renounce, or relinquish, the outcome is the same. Good teammates end behaviors that hinder their teams’ success.
Vince Lombardi is credited with coining the expression “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” In the context outlined above, it would seem fitting to highlight one of Lombardi’s other famous quotes about quitting: “Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”
If you want to impact your team’s success, you must make it a habit to quit making excuses, blaming others, and skirting accountability.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
