For most of my life (and many other people's lives I presume), the message to never give up is constantly enforced. It was in every Saturday cartoon, every Disney movie, every YA novel, and for a good reason! One shouldn't give up if they have a healthy dream that is conducive to self-growth.
However, this type of principle leads to various myths about quitting.
The first myth is that it is never OK to quit. It is. It is common and healthy, to reevaluate goals and determine that pursuing them is no longer productive. The decision to quit something that has lost its meaning is just as important as the decision to keep working on that goal.
The second is that quitting is selfish. For the most part, that's true. However, the misconception is that being selfish is inherently bad. In this day and age, we are seeing more and more the celebration of the concept of self-love. Thus, we should also recognize that with self-love comes selfishness, which should be celebrated as well. Being selfish isn't bad, and I firmly believe that everyone has the duty to put themselves before anyone else.
The third is that quitting automatically makes you a quitter and by association, a failure. Perhaps in terms of grammar, once you quit something you're a quitter. Nevertheless, you definitely do not deserve the negative connotation of being called a quitter suggests nor the harsh label of failure. In fact, quitting is an important part of success. We don't have time to participate in or excel in every aspect of life, and trying to do so will very easily lead to burnout. Quitting is a sign of prioritizing time and value so that you can focus on the things that will truly lead to happiness and growth.
Quitting is selfish, but it by no means makes you a failure. In fact, it is just as important to growth as continuing.
