I wanted to quit baseball when I was ten years old.
Not just quit — I wanted OUT. I hated standing in the batter's box.
I'd have traded every practice and game for video games or riding four-wheelers in a heartbeat.
The problem wasn't that I wanted to quit baseball.
The problem was when I decided this. The new season had barely started. New glove. New team. Didn't matter — I wanted gone.
Fortunately (though I sure didn't think so then), my dad had other ideas.
"You don't quit what you start. You started the season; you'll see it all the way through."
I was PISSED. Like the brat I was, I threw a fit, screamed "it's not fair!" and stormed off.
But he didn't budge — "Thompsons don't quit mid-season."
My dad saw what I couldn't.
My sudden "hatred" for baseball came right after taking a baseball to the face during warmups. A wild throw from my third baseman connected with my two front teeth, and just like that, I was terrified of the ball.
I went from swinging for the fences to flinching away from every pitch, convinced each one was aiming for my face.
And this was Little League — these kids weren't even throwing breaking balls yet!
I said I wanted to quit because "I hated baseball." The truth? I was afraid. I hated feeling scared, and instead of facing that fear, I let it create excuses. I was desperate to avoid the discomfort at all costs.
THE LESSON 📝
My dad forcing me to play through that season wasn't just about baseball. He knew something crucial: adult life would throw plenty more scary pitches my way.
Unless I learned to face those fears young, I'd develop a pattern of running from discomfort instead of pushing through it.
Research backs this up.
In a study on resilience, psychologists found that children who develop "stress inoculation" — controlled exposure to manageable challenges — show significantly higher resilience as adults.
Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin tells a similar story.
Every time she tried to quit gymnastics, her mom would agree — but only after she had a great day at practice.
"Never quit after a bad day," her mother insisted.
She understood that once Nastia experienced success again, quitting would lose its appeal. And if she still wanted out after a genuinely good day? That choice would be respected — but she'd never be allowed to quit during a low moment.
This isn't helicopter parenting — it's strategic discomfort.
Nastia's mom used gymnastics practice as a classroom for grit, knowing that skill would serve her daughter long after her Olympic career ended.
And science confirms she was right. According to research from Angela Duckworth, author of "Grit," perseverance is a stronger predictor of success than IQ or talent.
Her studies show that individuals who push through discomfort rather than avoid it consistently outperform those with higher natural ability.
THE ACTION 🏃♂️
Here's how to apply this when you want to bail on something important:
- Identify the real fear — What's actually making you uncomfortable? Name it specifically.
- Implement the 24-hour rule — When the urge to quit hits, commit to waiting 24 hours before deciding. This creates space between emotion and action.
- Create a "good day" benchmark — Define what a genuinely good day in this area looks like. Only consider quitting after experiencing one of those days.
- Document your progress — Track small wins to see how far you've come when facing fears head-on.
- Build your resilience muscle — Intentionally place yourself in uncomfortable-but-manageable situations regularly. Start small, then gradually increase intensity.
WELL-ROUNDED 📈
Tips for applying this lesson in your life every day:
Career — Are you avoiding that difficult conversation with your boss? Putting off the presentation that makes you nervous?
Ask yourself: "Am I choosing the comfortable path that keeps me stuck, or the uncomfortable one that leads to growth?" Remember, your competition isn't intimidated by the same challenges.
Relational — When conflicts arise, do you address them directly or ghost/avoid? The strongest relationships come from working through discomfort together, not pretending it doesn't exist.
Next time you feel like pulling away after an argument, lean in instead. Your relationships will deepen rather than dissolve.
Fitness — That burning sensation in your muscles isn't failure—it's growth happening in real time. Next workout, when you want to quit at rep 8, push for 10. When you want to walk, run for 30 more seconds.
The gap between "I can't" and "I did" is where transformation lives.
Personal — That skill you've wanted to learn that seems too difficult? That personal project you keep starting and stopping? Commit to just 15 uncomfortable minutes daily.
The resistance you feel is the exact reason you should continue. What could you accomplish if you stopped quitting every time it gets hard?
FINAL THOUGHTS 💭
The goal isn't to seek out pain. It's to stop avoiding the discomfort that leads to growth.
I'm cheering for you, Reader,
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Competitive Reflection
What's one thing you're considering quitting right now because it's uncomfortable? Could you commit to seeing it through just one more week while addressing the underlying fear?