Right off the bat I need to give credit where it’s due. Bob Goff, in his book Love Does said that he quits something every Thursday. I found that really intriguing, like I imagine most people did, but I wondered how in the heck that would work. Still, it stuck in my head. Then one day as I listened to an interview with Bob the interviewer said “That’s 52 commitments” and suddenly it clicked. How about if I did this for a whole year? I could knock out a lot of the crap in my life that I’ve been avoiding, putting off, justifying and worrying about? What would I look like, what would my life look like if I made a 52 week commitment to quit something bad in my life? Would I ultimately, as Bob said, begin to give up good things for better things? So that’s how the idea was born. 52 weeks, a new thing every week, big things, small things, maybe even good things; as they said in the dark ages; “Off with their heads!”

Course Correction and Commitment

How do you know when to tweak, when to stick it out and when to trash?

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Apropos of Quitting

Fitting that discontinuing so much quitting has to do with quitting

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Denying a Dopamine Addiction

Resisting the things I know I should isn’t something I seem to excel at

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Going Cold Turkey on Alarms

No clue how quitting waking up to an alarm ever will work but I can’t wait to try it

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Stepping out on my Own

I’m setting myself adrift on memory bliss (listen at your own peril, it’s catchy)

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A Health Flurry as the End Approaches

I’m realizing my Thursdays are numbered so ramping up is necessary

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A Crummy Christian Quits

Does subtraction plus addition equal multiplication?

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Out with the crap

It’s almost comical how much stuff we’ll put up with

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Don’t be such a spaz, man!

Going from one thing to another to another is exhausting

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Complaining and Negativity

These two have gotten me absolutely no where so I’m kicking them to the curb.

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No More Traveling Down the Curved and Narrow

I’ve gone down these paths so many times even the dog knows what’s coming

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Steering clear of the Social Black Hole

Once you drop into the abyss who knows when you’ll resurface.

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An Early Anniversary/Birthday Gift to my Wife

To say my wife will feel tremendous satisfaction about this week’s quitting is the understatement of the decade.

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It’s Only Words

It’s long overdue that we let go of words from our past.

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A Resolution to Overcome the Obstacle

Getting over, around or through what seems to block our path requires resolve.

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The No-Alarm Weekend

Two mornings a week I’m resolving to cut out an old nemesis.

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Getting Everything Moving in the Right Direction

It begins with the little things we do or don’t do first thing in the morning

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Sandman? Never met the guy

When it comes to insomnia, I’m not just quitting, I’m giving up

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To Go: Why I’m Cutting Out, Eating Out

We grew up eating out and we’ve continued to justify it; until today.

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Stretch

Sign me up for pain and discomfort on this one.

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Crybaby

I’d say “Don’t judge me on this” but it’s probably too late anyway.

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More Follow Up

So you might be asking yourself, ‘How’s that goober doing on those things he said he was going to quit?’

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Follow Up

If the devil is in the details the finishing is in the follow up.

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Finishing

Gotta take things to the end, man!

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The Season of Denial 

This one should stick, hopefully, like the one that kicked this whole thing off.

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Heal Thyself

No one’s going to take care of you.

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It’s What’s Best

Fair warning: Rabbit hole ahead!

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Keeping Score

When you’re the one keeping score in this game you’ll never win.

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Control 

Let go, man! 

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Say Something

Someone died, say something for crying out loud!

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Shut Up and Say Something

Slowly but surely I’m learning talking to God doesn’t have much to do with talking.

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Depression

Until we start talking about this subject openly and honestly we don’t have a snowball’s chance of getting or giving any help.

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Snooze

This week’s quitting isn’t terribly innovative or all that new. In fact I can’t even take full credit for some of the ideas and reasoning behind it.

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Cutting My Hair

Boy I scored a lot of points around the ponderosa with this week’s quitting. NOT!

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Big Fat Liar 

‘Tis the season of New Year’s Resolutions so what better time to cut out all the b.s. about what I tell myself about how easy or how hard something is going to be.

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Coffee

This week’s quitting has to do with coffee. No, I’m not cutting it out altogether; I’m no Bolshevik for crying out loud.

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Expectations 

Expectations are like thumbs: really important to have but every once in a while, hello, hammer!

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Allowing Others to Have Ownership of What I Do

Pat Benatar, Jerry McGuire and several personal development authors weigh in on this Thursday’s quitting topic.

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Anger

Good or bad? Let it all hang out or hold that crap inside? This week’s quitting is one convoluted, complicated mother.

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Drinking-This will be a tough one

I may just be the slowest learner on the planet. I’ve experienced and known about an activity that saps my strength and energy and bums me out for years now and I continue to do that “thing that I do not want to do” (loose bible reference). That thing is drinking.

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A Quitting Follow-up: Clutter and Pop

The Coke from McDonalds is still like liquid crack. It was delicious! Damn you Coca Cola!

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Quitting Candy in the Afternoon

Sometimes it’s the no-brainers that pose the biggest challenge, especially if they’re delicious!

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Quitting T.V.

A resolution early this year went better than expected and gave me the courage to start this whole “Quitting Thursdays” thing.

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EATING LATE AT NIGHT

This week, drunk on past success, I’m tackling a 36 year habit. Woof! (Literally)

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GIVING UP POP

Breaking up a long-standing relationship, one I’ve fought for and “earned” might be the toughest thing I’ve quit so far.

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QUITTING CLUTTER

The ever-present junk lurking around, long a source of depression fighting purpose, has got to go.

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AN UPDATE ON QUITTING ANSWERING EMAIL

I gotta be transparent and forthright here, folks. I still get twitchy every time I have my laptop open and working on this blog.

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Skipping a Day of Writing

Back in the day there was a commercial for the Florida Orange Growers Association where Anita Bryant said “A day with orange juice is like a day without sunshine.” This spawned the Steve Martin one-liner “A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” I liked the latter a lot more than the former. This week’s quitting is really more about not quitting.

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Checking Email After Hours

Let me be frank; I bitch a lot. I don’t think I complain so much as I just bitch. Fortunately my bitching is internal so usually I don’t burden or bother others with it but I do it. A lot. One of the things I bitch the most about is how I can’t get away from my job.

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