I Used to Quit Everything… Until I Learned This

Big Dreams, Little Follow-Through

There was a time in my life when I was certain I was just "one of those people."

You know the type:

• Big dreams.

• Burst of energy.

• Half-finished projects collecting dust in every corner of the room—and the mind.

• A dozen ideas started… and barely any seen through.

That was me.

Not because I didn’t care. Not because I was lazy. But because something in me believed I simply didn’t have what it takes to follow through.

What Changed?

If you’d seen me as a child, you’d have thought the opposite. I was on fire with curiosity.

• Cooking? Loved it.

• Painting? Obsessed.

• Writing? I was already designing my book cover in my head.

Adults used to say, “She’s so creative!” “So full of potential!”

But somewhere along the way, those words shifted: “She never finishes anything.” “She loses interest so fast.”

And you know what? They were right. I was jumping from thing to thing—project to project—dream to dream.

But no one ever asked why. And neither did I.

It Wasn’t Boredom. It Was Fear.

Looking back now, I can see it clearly. It wasn’t boredom. It wasn’t a lack of drive. It was fear.

• Fear of not being good enough.

• Fear of trying and still failing.

• Fear of being seen trying—and not succeeding.

• Fear of confirming all the doubts I had about myself.

So quitting became easier than beginning. Giving up became more familiar than pushing through. And quitting… became a habit.

The Quietest Kind of Giving Up

There’s a kind of giving up that’s almost invisible. No drama. No breakdowns. Just quiet moments where we walk away from the things we love because fear whispered, “You’ll never make it.”

That’s the one that hurts the most.

And I lived there for years. Half-started dreams. False restarts. Excuses wrapped up in logic.

The Moment Everything Changed

One day, I stopped asking, "Why can’t I finish anything?" And instead, I asked: "Who do I believe I am?"

That changed everything.

It wasn’t about motivation or willpower. It was about identity.

I had been carrying the label of “quitter” without realizing it. It shaped how I saw myself—and how I moved through life.

So I made a quiet decision: Not to succeed. Not to perfect it. Not even to finish. Just to show up. Today. Even if it’s messy.

The Power of a Tiny Promise

I started small:

• Five minutes of journaling.

• One row of knitting.

• One page of reading.

Tiny acts. No pressure. But every time I kept that tiny promise, something shifted in my brain.

I started to believe something new: "I’m not someone who quits. I’m someone who shows up."

A Line That Changed Me

James Clear, in Atomic Habits, writes:

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to become."

That line hit me hard.

Because for years, my actions were voting for a version of me I didn’t want to be. Now, every small step became a vote for someone new:

• Someone steady.

• Someone brave.

• Someone who creates—even when no one’s watching.

The Truth Is...

We don’t need to finish everything right away. We don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

We just need to show up—for ourselves.

Failure isn’t final. Starting over isn’t weakness. Dreams don’t expire just because we paused them.

Momentum doesn’t come from a perfect plan. It comes from one small step repeated.

Over time, those steps build trust. And trust in yourself? That’s the foundation of everything.

A Question for You

What have you walked away from—not because you didn’t care—but because fear told you that you couldn’t?

What’s one small thing you can show up for today?

Let it be simple. Let it be messy. Let it be yours.

Because the truth is: You’re not someone who quits. You’re someone who’s learning to show up.

And that changes everything.

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Book to read:”Atomic Habits” By James Clear.

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