Intentionally letting go as the key to a more fulfilling life
So many of us know the “secret to success” mantra – quitters don’t win and winners don’t quit – but sometimes, quitting is exactly the right course of action. In fact, quit and grit are two sides of the same coin, and developing the skills to know when to say no can open us up to better opportunities to explore more, do more and find the right things worth sticking to.
As a long-distance backpacker, Alison Young shares her on-trail experiences oftentimes in life-threatening situations, where understanding the biases and blocks to quitting helped her find more success and deeper gratification on and off the trail.
In this talk that turns failure on its head, you’ll examine the biases that block intentional quitting and explore how to discern which things are worth sticking with and which to walk away from. You’ll also sharpen the tools that get you to “no” faster, open you up to better business opportunities as well as more control over your personal life.
Key outcomes include:
- Identify 5 biases that block intentional quitting.
- Explore the mindset of setting flexible goals to manage uncertain outcomes.
- Discover how getting to ‘no’ faster is a powerful skill.
Why Alison Young?
With a Type A personality and one always ready to seize the day and make things happen, Alison learned that the trail – and as an extension, life itself – doesn’t really care what we want it to be. As a long distance thru-hiker, she has come face-to-face with her own misconceptions about quitting, often leaving her exposed to life-threatening danger.
What she’s learned from walking on six continents is to embrace uncertainty, change, and risky situations with a looser grip and to pay attention to the cognitive biases and science surrounding decisions that might involve quitting. This has helped her develop the skills needed to discern when it’s time to let go vs. when it’s time to keep going in spite of adversity.
Having these skills has not only made her a safer hiker, but has also helped he feel more fully present in the experience as it happens. The outcome has been far more successes on and off trail, as well as living with more abundance and joy.