3 minute read
Thoughts from the Editor
Thoughts from the Editor
I have a close friend who refers to socks that lose their elasticity and fall down as “quitters.”
It's an apt description.
When I first heard this term, I laughed so hard that I blew my drink out of my nose, and I've since adopted the term myself.
A “quitter” = that failing sock sagging down your right leg.
I can't stand quitters, and I hate it when the elastic in a perfectly fine pair of socks gives out. I can be going about my day, minding my own business, and before I know it, one sock is huddled around my ankle like a hand-me-down turtleneck.
The thing is, I can relate to that poor sock. I start with the best intentions every year. It's a fresh year, so I make my resolutions and start off well. I pull myself up with the best intentions to stay the course. My plans to lose 20 pounds, date my wife, write cards to my daughters, and journal every day are undertaken with clarity and focus. I've got the plan, the goals, and the “why” all set.
Until inevitably, the year starts to chug along and the gravity of life—pressures at work, life events, distractions, busyness, whatever—takes its toll, and I lose my staying power.
Just like my quitter sock, I've lost my ability to stick with the program and do what I was made to do.
This January I read an email describing “National Quitting Day,” and it made me laugh. Then it made me mad. Mad at myself for all the times I’d promised and failed to follow through. Mad at my inability to stick with a plan. Mad at the world for being so demanding of my time and attention—for coaxing me to give priority to the urgent over the important.
"Quitters Day" is the day in January when people are statistically most likely to give up on their New Year's resolutions. It's typically the second Friday of the new year. For 2024 that was January 12th. This concept is based on research and trends observed in gym attendance, diet program sign-ups, and other resolution-related activities.
It's a sad day. Broken promises, failed goals, forfeited dreams.
I hate quitters. And I'm one of them.
But something is different about 2024 for me.
We’re now several weeks past “Quitters Day,” and I’m not quitting. My focus has shifted from obtaining a goal or accomplishing a plan to a mindset of daily training. I’m in training. When I’m training, I know there are bound to be ups and downs. I know that I’ll face days when getting out of bed at 5am feels like an impossibility. I’m not going to hit 100% perfection right away—maybe never. And that’s okay. Training is focused on who I’m becoming, not what I’m accomplishing.
By living with a training mindset, I get to do what no sock ever could. I get to renew my purpose, even after I fail.
We’re now into the second month of 2024 and things haven’t gone perfectly, but I’m still training myself towards becoming the kind of man I want to be.
So here's to all the quitters out there. Time to dust yourself off, renew your vows, rediscover your goals, and train again—today. May your year be filled with daily renewals, living with a training mindset, and moving beyond "Quitter's Day" toward a year full of growth, hope, and joy in the process.
