The Good Quit

The Good Quit, Jeffrey A. Lockwood. University of Wyoming Press. (ISBN: 9781646428069) 2026.

Summary: A philosophical inquiry into the what, when, why, and how of quitting including the different kinds of quits.

“I quit!” Most of us have said those words, or something like them during our lives. Sometimes that was a good decision and sometimes one we regretted. That may or may not have to do with how or why we quit. Sometimes, we quit freely, while at other times, it may have been compelled or was something we did with reluctance. Furthermore, character enters in. To quit sometimes seems a sign of weakness, especially if one quits too easily or often.

Given this, Jeffrey A. Lockwood, who quit the field of entomology to become a professor of natural sciences and humanities, take us us on philosophical and practical study of quitting. His study breaks into three parts. Firstly, he considers the various kinds of ways we stop doing something or how quitting manifests. We end relationships, undergo conversion, renounce certain habits, and make decisions around the end of our lives. We end employment out of principle, frustration, or to pursue more favorable work. From games and athletic contests to wars, we terminate our involvement, usually when the cost of continuing is greater than that of conceding defeat. Out of all this, Lockwood formulates a taxonomy of quitting.

Secondly, Lockwood discusses the when and why of quitting. He looks at how we decide to “hold ’em or fold ’em” in a number of different activities. He explores the difference between well-reasoned and impulsive endings. Lockwood also considers the matter of free will. We do not always quit by our own choice alone but because of various levels of coercion–think Tom Brady or Joe Biden. Then there are the various levels of quitting from cold turkey to cutting back. Is doing less a kind of quitting? Finally, in the last chapter of this section, Lockwood formulates a definition of quitting incorporating the factors he has discussed:

“Quitting is the task of integrating rational and emotional considerations in voluntarily terminating one’s commitment to a typically ongoing state or process of considerable meaning to the individual for a time or degree sufficient to produce a marked subjective change” (p. 157).

Thirdly, Lockwood gets into the practicalities of how we quit well. Here, Lockwood pursues the path of phronesis or common sense. We balance the virtues of courage, wisdom, justice, and moderation to quit in a manner consister with the character to which we aspire. This means we work through the why, having sound justification. We are clear about the what. And we discern when, neither too soon or late, the line between grit and quit.

I read this book mindful of my most recent “quit,” my decision to retire after working 48 years in an organization with no mandatory retirement age. I had watched others stay too long. The questions of the book were real, and although I didn’t have access to the book at the time, the process squares with my own experience. most of all, it was a decision in timing and execution consistent with the kind of person as spouse, colleague, and college minister to which I aspired.

Lockwood combines analysis and theory with storytelling and practical help. The book elaborates what the title proposes. It also helpfully delineates the tension between quit and grit and the important issues of character and not just career savvy involved. Likewise, the fact that it discusses other kinds of endings makes this a valuable guide at any age or stage of life. In many instances, quitting is the right thing to do. This book helps us discern those times and the steps to take to flourish through what may be a hard process.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.