When To Persevere, When To Quit

Two books, five practical points, and additional thoughts on deciding when to persevere with goals and when to let them go.
Christi Hegstad May 7th, 2025

A couple of years ago, I was scanning my ‘Books That Changed My Life’ shelf (we all have one of those, right?) and noticed something interesting:

Two books right next to each other (because I organize them in alphabetical order by the author’s last name); both with a black, white, and red color scheme; both made my top ten nonfiction list the years I read them (five years apart); both with one-word, four-letter titles that also rhymed

When I tell you how my nerd-heart started beating faster!

And obviously, since they were both on my shelf of honor, both already held a special place in my mind, work, and life.

But interestingly, they also seemed diametrically opposed to one another: One was called Grit, all about the power of perseverance, and the other was called Quit, all about the power of walking away.

As a coach, writer, and lifelong student of human behavior, my wheels were turning. I immediately wrote a brief blog about my discovery and a few points I found interesting. And here we are, two years later, and I am returning to the phenomenon that I haven’t really stopped thinking about since.

My latest Reading And Purpose article shares thoughts on both books, as well as five points I find useful when deciding when to quit and when to persevere with my goals. The article is available to the public – you can subscribe and read it here!


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