I Quit

I was about ten years old and had been doing Karate for a few years getting to my green belt. But by now, the sparkle of training had been wearing off. I mean, there's a lot of repetition, a lot of practicing, and I was bored. I wanted to quit.

My dojo was a couple of blocks from my house, so after school my two older brothers and I would get ready by ourselves and go train. My oldest brother was always motivated to go; my second older brother was more like me, so one day him and I decided to stay home and watch the Flintstones rather than go to class. When my dad got home and found us watching TV, he was not amused and applied some foot to rear medicine to us both. My father was very loving, but he was also very strict. When he enrolled us in Karate he told us that we would at least earn our black belt. Quitting was out of the question.

So there I went to the dojo each time, grumbling and kicking rocks. But after a while I caught the love of it again and didn't need to be dragged anymore. As we got older, my brothers and I excelled at Karate, we integrated the Peruvian National team, and traveled the world to many international competitions.

Today, Karate is my love, my passion, and my career (after I left Software Engineering to follow my dream). And to think that none of this would have been possible if it had not been for my father putting his foot down (or up, you could say), and laying down the law for me when I was too immature to see things through.

Often I hear parents say: "I will not force my child to do anything he/she doesn't want to do". But my father said: "I know what is best for my child, and I will have him do what is best for him, even if he doesn't like it. He will thank me later". And that has made all the difference in the world for me and my children, as I have also followed my father's philosophy.

Whether it is Karate, College, work, or anything else, too many times, we find it easier to simply quit. Throw in the towel. When things get tough, we quit. I get bored, I quit. Things don't go as I expected, I quit. Quitting becomes a habit, a way of life, and sadly, if we lack the parent, friend, coach, or teacher to push us to persevere, we leave many things half done.

I wonder what achievements are never accomplished, what discoveries are left hidden, what potentials never realized, simply because we quit when the chips were down. As a child, I lacked discipline, but my father was there to supplement my deficiency. He pushed me until I did not need him to do so anymore. My father left us too soon at the age of 59 and I miss him dearly. He showed me some tough, but real love, and for that I am forever grateful.