Back in the day, Titanic was THE romantic movie. Forget The Notebook. Forget Team Jacob. DiWinslet was the power couple everyone was rooting for.

But Jack and Rose weren’t meant to last, oh no.

In the film’s most intense scene (next to the steamy hand on window part), Jack is doomed! After helping Rose onto a wooden thingy that can only support one person, he has no other option but to freeze to death. Rose comforts the dead man to be DiCaprio– then only 22(!)– by saying, “I’ll never let go.” And proceeds to let him go and sink into the abyss.

I remember laughing at this scene at the time, but I’m pretty sure it was a ruse to hold back my pain and anguish. How could she? To be so cold-hearted!

But you know, in retrospect, she did the right thing. He was dead weight holding her back. And this is the chilling lesson I want to focus on: letting go. But just so you don’t think I’m talking about being hung up on relationships, let me change the wording to:

Know When to Give Up

Giving up isn’t just about the mushy stuff either– it’s necessary for achieving your career and fitness goals too.

Career-wise

You have a friend who hates his/her job? Sure you do! Let’s use my friend Amy as an example. She’s making big bucks as a dental surgeon. She toiled through the extra years of schooling to get there. She didn’t really get to enjoy the social aspect of school because she was so focused on her studies. But that’s okay because she’s successful now, right?

Well, yes. But you’d never know since she’s always miserable. And she spends all her time talking about how miserable she is.

Amy persevered and fought hard through the coursework. She didn’t want to look like a quitter, and she reached the end goal. But it wasn’t ever her goal to be a dental surgeon… (spoiler: it was her parents!)

Fitness-wise

Yes, sometimes you have people who give up too soon on a new workout routine. You have people who don’t hang with a diet long enough to see the proper results. But then you have people like Fred, who are unwilling to stop no matter how much pain or suffering they inflict upon themselves.

Fred is the guy who’s adamant about cutting back carbs. He cuts his carbs down so low that he lacks fiber. That part isn’t uncommon, except he doesn’t try to supplement it. He refuses to introduce fiber into his system because he’s worried about being bloated.

He refuses and refuses. Even when the toilet time turns crimson…

Bottom line: quitting is acceptable. You have to know when. Are you sticking with something that isn’t working? Something that’s harmful? Or is this path leading you to somewhere you don’t even want to be?

Ask yourself. Or e-mail me and let’s talk.