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Don't Give Up

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Categories: Experiences and daily life; Human nature

Word count/read time: 488 words; 2 minutes

Vuelta a España, 2021, Miguel Angel Lopez held 3rd spot on the penultimate day but abandoned with just a few of the 2,100+ miles to go. Cycling has no shortage of controversies, scandals, and massive doping problems but quitting so close to the end is shameful. That's not what this blog is about. Let me clarify.

Every event has a defined end whether a race, ride, game, show, movie, meal, etc. Some are competitive with winners, dropouts, and everyone in between. Quitting is absolute as there is no finish line. A lesser degree of quitting is giving up. Giving up is not necessarily absolute as there were many riders in that bicycle race who "gave up" but kept riding and finished.

I've given up plenty of times because I pushed my body beyond its limits. It was not a conscious (mental) choice per se as there just wasn't enough gas in the tanks to maintain such a furious (physical) pace. But one tenet I always held dear was that I never quit a race even when my testicles were crushed so hard I saw double for a week!

The quitting -vs- giving up argument gets murky when there is no defined finish. Choose chainmaking as an example. Maybe a weave is too hard and you quit doing that weave but continue making others. In this case, quitting and giving up are synonymous with the weave in question. The next weave may be different and so on.

A gray area of giving up is ceasing improvement, learning, or risks. So many people give up on their hobby after the first week yet languish for eternity continuing it. Their cumulative experience works against them: They get worse as time goes on because they just don't care. It's "good enough" and when they compare themselves to everyone else, most of whom have given up, it's comforting and reassuring in a perverted way.

For some it's about perfection and anything less is a reason to quit. Perfection is mostly unattainable when we make things by hand. It can be perfect in its own way since the minute flaws serve as proof that someone toiled to achieve near-perfection. We'd call it flawless and it's not accidental. Flawless can only happen when someone values quality. Quality is only valued when there is a passion to improve. The passion to improve only exists when you haven't given up.

If you have given up then don't sell or distribute your substandard goods or services. Keep it for you and you alone! Without the skills, desire, or knowledge to do it properly you ruin it for legitimate professionals.

While I'm certain there are many more highly skilled chain makers out there, the marketplace has yet to catch up. In their mind, every seller is the mutt's nuts and they can do no wrong. The reality is quite different so it's refreshing to meet those who achieve excellence.

Posted by M: October 21, 2021

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