Here’s the thing: a lot of people would probably say that it is easier to quit than to weather the storm. After all, if you quit, you avoid all the pain associated with persevering through the storm.

I’ll tell you this – it’s equally hard to quit. Some days, I wonder if it’s harder to quit than to struggle through. I’ve quit a lot of things in my adult life, and it’s never been easy. The consequences that I’ve fought through after quitting have been some of the hardest battles of my life. The thing is, this time around I am happy to be a quitter.

Would you like to know what I’ve quit?  I’ve quit menial jobs. I quit my B.A. after one year. I quit the MacEwan dance program after 2 weeks. I quit my B.Sc. before I’d started. I quit my dance studio after 3 years. I quit my ballet teacher training. I’ve walked away from personal training opportunities, and this year I quit the business I’d built from the heart up. Next week, I’ll quit my full-time salaried job. While we’re at it, I even quit Facebook and Twitter ;p

None of those moments have come easily. I could have weathered through, looked for advice and help and made it work but I didn’t. I moved on when it wasn’t right for me, instead of becoming a martyr to a vision that I didn’t love. I’ll never stay somewhere that makes me unhappy, or surround myself with people who don’t inspire me. I’ll never settle for the pain of being “strong” because I don’t believe in living a painful life. Of course there are a select few people who are worth feeling pain for, and they live in my house and in my heart. But through many years of quitting, I’ve learned that it take a lot of strength to walk away.

It’s a long, quiet, lonely road sometimes, full of guilt and soul-searching. And yes, it hurts at first, but the beauty in quitting is finding that there is hope beyond the present situation and light beyond the darkness. Everything I’ve quit has led me to a greater treasure – a better partner, a better role, a better life. I am happy and at peace with all the things that I have quit over the years, and I’m proud to be a quitter. I’m proud to know that life is about the journey, and to know that I will never be weighed down.

It’s a freedom that I am privileged to own, to know that I can always move on and move forward. It takes strength to believe in the choices I make and to defend those choices to myself and to others. In a world where people define themselves by the pain in their lives, I am happy to know that I don’t need to relate and engage in the drama. I don’t need to gasp for air and wonder if I’ll make it through. People have called it weak, out loud and in their heads, and it doesn’t matter to me. It takes a certain strength of character to be able to walk away with your head held high and admit that you’re still on your journey.

I’ll never be defined by my present situation because I won’t allow it to define me. I won’t be defined by my past actions or choices. I’ll only be defined by myself and what makes me happy.

And if I need to quit in order to be happy, I’ll quit whatever stands in my way._uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();