In 2016, I decided I would return to night school to pursue my MS in Nutrition and dietetics.
Considering I had a BFA in Theatre for my undergraduate degree, this was a big ask because I was missing much of the prerequisites needed to qualify for a Masters’s program for that kind of degree.
Still, I had just turned 40 and wanted something different for my career.
So, I registered for Economics 101 at Hunter College and began my journey.
After passing with a B, I registered for Statistics (Why oh why didn't I take that in undergrad instead of Computer Science?!), and about halfway through the semester, I got engaged and had a significant death in my family.
At that time, I was full steam ahead, not knowing what was up and down, but LIFE forced me to stop and evaluate where I was going and what it would cost me (literally and existentially) to get there.
My husband likes to remind me that I have to do everything the "hard way."
I'm not offended by that comment because it's true.
It has gotten me very comfortable with failure, making mistakes, and learning from them.
I have no problem quitting something that isn't working.
Getting comfortable with that is a practice—as in, you must cultivate comfortability with letting things go.
That is a true growth mindset.
But (and this is a BIG but), you must also recognize the difference between wanting to quit something because it's hard and quitting something because it no longer serves you or you’ve outgrown it.
This is true of jobs, hobbies, and even relationships.
The realization that pursuing my Master's would put me in tons of debt and take me FOREVER and that (when I ruminated on this) it just didn't make sense felt like such a relief!
Instead of forcing myself to continue, I gave myself permission to walk away.
I knew there was another path and needed a minute to decipher what that would be.
I went about work as usual, supported my family during an unimaginable loss, mourned that loss, planned my wedding, got married, and COVID hit just a few years later.
The pandemic was devastating, but it gave me a moment to pause and reflect.
That's when I decided to get my Health Coaching certification and finish my Pilates apparatus training.
It was hard, and I often felt like I would never get through it, but (to quote Glennon Doyle) we can do hard things!
Quitting something that no longer aligns with your goals doesn't make you a "quitter."
It shows that you won't settle for anything less than the best version of yourself.