I've quit a lot of things in my life. Soccer, dance, cheerleading. I quit a school play one time. (That one actually makes me cringe, because I'm pretty sure I didn't even tell my director.) I've quit watching TV shows that stopped being entertaining to me or reading books that were boring.
I quit a lot, and—with the exception of flaking out on that middle school play—I do it so that my time can be focused on the best things. The things that only I can do.
That list is short. It includes being a good wife to my husband, a good mother to my kids, and, of course, writing.
So when my parents loaned me The Dip by Seth Godin, a book about quitting, this quote jumped out at me:
"Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time." Seth Godin, The DipAs my kids start back to school, I find myself reassessing my schedule, and maybe now is a good time for you to do the same. What do I need to quit so that I can free myself up to excel at something else?
That is an absolutely fabulous quote!
ReplyDeleteIt was one of those that jumped off the page at me :)
DeleteI'm getting back into writing more often starting today, and quitting the distractions, or at least cutting them to a shorter time. Sure I have vacuuming and all that to do, but I shall make time for my writing once more! :D
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Kyra!
DeleteHello! I'm new to the blog and decided to "join" after reading your amazing, helpful book Go Teen Writers. I had read a couple of posts here several weeks ago, discovered that you (and Jill!) had written a craft book, and purchased it immediately. Thanks so much for writing Go Teen Writers and for the blog!
ReplyDelete~L. Marshall
I'm so touched! Welcome to Go Teen Writers!
DeleteThank you. :) I'm so excited to be here.
DeleteI'm so glad that you liked the book. I plan to buy it soon because I just finished my first novel and I hope to use the book as my guide as I navigate the editing process.
DeleteWhat a great quote, Stephanie. Thanks for sharing! So often I think we feel compelled not to quit at anything because we equate quitting with failing. But sometimes quitting one thing can allow you the time to succeed and be victorious at something even better - something I need to remind myself sometimes. :)
ReplyDeleteWell said, Gillian. We have to say no to some things in order to say yes to something else.
DeleteSo this is my first time reading the blog, so naturally this was the first post that came up - and wow, I really needed this today!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this quote.
ReplyDeleteI've known for awhile now that something has to go, and since I can't drop geometry, I've decided that next year it will be orchestra and violin lessons. It scares me to tell my violin teacher/orchestra director, but I can't do violin and piano and writing and AP classes.
Such a good post! Awesome quote and so true :)
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteI honestly never thought of it that way. And this could really, truly be exactly what I need to do. I'm seven days into the school year and I'm already exhausted, overwhelmed and wondering how I'm going to manage everything I have to do. I really don't feel like I should be a sophomore...I still feel twelve! And it feels like this was such a big jump from last year. Suddenly, within the past couple months, I've gotten more work (not a job-job, but childcare, dog care, etc.--it's more regular though), I've gotten my learner's permit and am learning how to drive, I've got a million new things added to my school schedule, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life. And that's all in addition to just plain old normal life that has to happen every day!
So the past few days, I've had this thing in the back of my head: "Something needs to go. Something needs rearranging. I can't do a whole year of this." But I have this stubborn (my mom says "Call it determined!" LOL) personality that definitely considers quitting or giving something up as failing or conceding or something. So this quote was perfect for me today. Thank you so much! Another one of these not-just-writing-but-life-as-well posts! :)
Also, congrats to Mrs. Williamson for release day at last! I preordered the book a few days ago so Amazon is being very nice and shipping it for me. ;) Can't wait to read it!
DeleteI definitely need to learn how to make time for writing. Most of what keeps me busy right now (school) is mandatory, but I'm sure I could do a better job minimizing distractions and time-wasters so that I can get school done sooner and free up more time for writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting high school in September, and I've had to cut back on a few activities so that I can focus on my priorities: getting good grades in my honors classes, running cross country, playing the violin, participating in a club and making time for my hobbies such as writing, reading and sewing. It's been difficult because I had such a busy schedule before and it's really hard to let something go. However, I know that it will really free up my time and help me get really good at a few things, rather than only okay at a bunch of things.
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