In October 1974, Boxer Muhammad Ali pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports when he knocked out George Foreman, overcoming unbelievable odds and adversities. That is when he was known as the Greatest of All Time. Muhammad Ali became the symbol of grit. At age 32, after being banned for three and half years, starting from the bottom, against all odds, among a sea of naysayers, he had refused to give up and triumphed.
But his story doesn’t end there.
Ali fought for seven more years. From 1975 to December 1981, persisted despite repeated, unambiguous signals that he should quit. Teddy Brenner, who hosted eight of Ali’s fights, begged him to retire. Ali waffled.
After receiving a post-fight lab report about the condition of Ali’s kidneys, his fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco tried to get him to retire Ali ignored him. Ferdie quit instead.
In 1980 Ali didn’t get medical clearance (a mere formality) to fight Larry Holmes, the current champion. Ali fought anyway and got such a beating that Larry Holmes cried after the match for having to beat him.
Ali should have quit after vanquishing Foreman.
All those punches Alis absorbed in the matches that followed contributed to Parkinson’s disease and his physical and mental decline.
Yester, Jacinta Ardern, the prime minister of Newzealand dropped a bombshell by announcing her resignation.
“For me, it’s time. I just don’t have enough in the tank for another four years. I am not leaving because I believe we cannot win the next election, but because I believe we can and will. You cannot and should not do the job unless you have a full tank, plus a bit in reserve for those unplanned and unexpected challenges that inevitably come along.”
What made Jacinta do what Alis couldn’t at the height of his glory?
One word - grit.
The same grit that helped Ali become such a great champion drove him to ignore the signs that were obvious to everyone else that he should quit.
The funny thing about girt is that while it can get you to stick to hard things that are worthwhile, it can also get you to stick to hard things that are NO LONGER worthwhile. The trick is in figuring out the difference.
Success doesn’t lie in sticking to things. It lies in picking the right things to stick to and quitting the rest.
We tend to celebrate people who respond to adversity by soldering on. The quitters, in comparison, are invisible.
But quitting is not a shameful thing, instead, it is a decision-making tool. Quitting a course of action is sometimes the best way to win in the long run, whether you’re cutting your losses at the poker table or getting to climb another day.
Quit and grit are two sides of the exact same decision.
Anytime you are deciding whether to quit, you are obviously simultaneously deciding whether to stick and vice versa.
Decision-making in the real world requires action without complete information. Quitting is the tool that allows us to react to new information that is revealed after we make a decision.
Sticking with a course of action is the only way to find out how it will turn out. Quitting requires being okay with not knowing what might have been.
Having the option to quit helps to explore more, learn more and ultimately find the right things to stick with.
The book I am reading this week is ‘Quit’ by Annie Duke. Muhammad Ali’s story is from that book.
‘Quit’ has testimonials from every person I respect:
‘There aren’t many times you will say, “this book changed my life.” This is one of them. wrote Seth Godin, the bestselling author of ‘The Practice’.
“Brilliant and entertaining… I learned a lot. You will too. - Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize Winner.
Full of interesting stories and equally interesting and compelling arguments, the book can help you figure out when to persevere and when to walk away.
I have my own quitting to do.
I have been writing on all sorts of topics in this newsletter for three years now on all sorts of topics. The time has come to concentrate on one niche and build my expertise in that.
Last week’s exercise to set a mission for life has helped me realize that I want to write books. That’s the niche I have been working on for the past 18 months. Finding the mission exercise has just cemented it.
I want to change the name and focus of this newsletter so that it is more aligned with my mission.
In the future, I will be writing more about books and writing books along with productivity and self-development advice (both are necessary for writing books).
I want to give a more appropriate name to this newsletter. I have a few suggestions and I need your help in choosing one. The ones I am pondering are:
30DaysBookWritersClub
Author’s Corner
Productive Writers
Aspiring Author’s Alcove
Please, help me choose a name. Write me a comment.
That’s all from me this week.
If you liked this newsletter, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
HI Neera,
I like "Productive Writer". It's simple and invites "wanna be" writers to learn the tricks of the craft. People like me have no idea how to begin writing a book, so we look for help from others who have "been there and done that". Author's Corner is also a good name, but it doesn't suggest help for the
serious writer. That's my opinion.
I enjoyed the Whimsical Writer and reading a variety of stories, but I can see the value in you're wanting to focus on a niche and becoming an expert. Writing is a good choice I think.
I hear so many people talk about writing their book, but have no idea what it takes to do the work. I've learned there is no "one right way" for everyone, you have to find your writing path. So, yes, Productive Writer is a good name.
I like "Author's Corner" for the new name.
I have never learned to quit. It has served me well but also has extended my pain on numerous occasions.