When do you throw in the towel? (1 Viewer)

krafticus

krafticus

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Just a general question really, and not poker specific. Wondering, in general, when you call it quits and throw in the towel for things/activities in general?

When things just aren’t fun / rewarding?
When things get to expensive?
When your investment hasn’t paid dividends?
When you just don’t improve over time?

Again, not poker specific.

For example, I’ve coached youth baseball for several years. I’ve seen many kids where I thought “you really shouldn’t be playing baseball”. The talent isn’t there, but some are having fun. Are they helping the team, nope. Are they having fun, yup. Should they quit?

I’m starting to take a look at myself, and really starting to be that baseball coach, and wondering how many things I’m doing that I should just give up on. Some big, some small.
 
krafticus said:
Just a general question really, and not poker specific. Wondering, in general, when you call it quits and throw in the towel for things/activities in general?

When things just aren’t fun / rewarding?
When things get to expensive?
When your investment hasn’t paid dividends?
When you just don’t improve over time?

Again, not poker specific.

For example, I’ve coached youth baseball for several years. I’ve seen many kids where I thought “you really shouldn’t be playing baseball”. The talent isn’t there, but some are having fun. Are they helping the team, nope. Are they having fun, yup. Should they quit?

I’m starting to take a look at myself, and really starting to be that baseball coach, and wondering how many things I’m doing that I should just give up on. Some big, some small.
Click to expand...
Yes. You suck at pokerchip collecting. Quit. Send all those chips to my house for safekeeping.
 
Marie Kondo that shit
1673996915121.gif
 
krafticus said:
Just a general question really, and not poker specific. Wondering, in general, when you call it quits and throw in the towel for things/activities in general?

When things just aren’t fun / rewarding?
When things get to expensive?
When your investment hasn’t paid dividends?
When you just don’t improve over time?

Again, not poker specific.

For example, I’ve coached youth baseball for several years. I’ve seen many kids where I thought “you really shouldn’t be playing baseball”. The talent isn’t there, but some are having fun. Are they helping the team, nope. Are they having fun, yup. Should they quit?

I’m starting to take a look at myself, and really starting to be that baseball coach, and wondering how many things I’m doing that I should just give up on. Some big, some small.
Click to expand...
If it's no fun, stressfully expensive, has no returns, and doesn't yield better results as you continue...why do it?
There are answers that I can think of but most of them are for religious/charitable/sacrificial pursuits. Something you deem "more important than fun/time/money/external reward."

But in your example, as long as the team is about having fun, those kids should play on. If the team is super serious/competitive, maybe they should move teams.
 
I don't do a lot of things for myself. I generally quit when I start to feel unappreciated by others for the things I do.
 
It sounds like you might be getting burn-out on some aspects of your life. Completely normal. If things arent bringing you joy, put them aside. Spend time doing things you really enjoy. Maybe you'll go back to those others things with a new vigor after time, but if not, you havent wasted more time doing something you dont like
 
krafticus said:
I’ve seen many kids where I thought “you really shouldn’t be playing baseball”. The talent isn’t there, but some are having fun. Are they helping the team, nope. Are they having fun, yup. Should they quit?
Click to expand...
That makes me sad. I know there's a line somewhere between "fun sports for kids" and "training/competitive leagues" but I don't know where that line should be drawn as childhood just flies by.
 
krafticus said:
Just a general question really, and not poker specific. Wondering, in general, when you call it quits and throw in the towel for things/activities in general?

When things just aren’t fun / rewarding?
When things get to expensive?
When your investment hasn’t paid dividends?
When you just don’t improve over time?

Again, not poker specific.

For example, I’ve coached youth baseball for several years. I’ve seen many kids where I thought “you really shouldn’t be playing baseball”. The talent isn’t there, but some are having fun. Are they helping the team, nope. Are they having fun, yup. Should they quit?

I’m starting to take a look at myself, and really starting to be that baseball coach, and wondering how many things I’m doing that I should just give up on. Some big, some small.
Click to expand...
I feel this way about all of my hobbies at some point. House, car, collector stuff. I just stuff them in a garage, closet, or otherwise and move on to the next thing that will hold my attention. The things I truly like I come back to eventually. Magic the Gathering cards is one of those types of things. Fun for a while, get too into it, burn out, and forget about it for a while. Come back later and have fun again.
 
As a general rule of thumb, when the fun stops — stop.
 
upNdown said:
That makes me sad. I know there's a line somewhere between "fun sports for kids" and "training/competitive leagues" but I don't know where that line should be drawn as childhood just flies by.
Click to expand...
Thats typically around the jr. high level
 
Im that adhd type that is always on a new hobby so it's just when my brain decides it's burnt out on a specific thing that's the towel being thrown and the hobby changes, or when my bank account tells me i need to stop
 
krafticus said:
Even if it does sometimes, but can also bring you disappointment/dissatisfaction?
Click to expand...
All depends on the situation. Some things in life don’t always meet our expectations. When a situation reaches a point that I’m giving 100% + and I still feel like the return on my investment is not fulfilling, well it’s either put up or look for something more fulfilling.

I’m trying to speak in general terms, some situations are much deeper and more complicated than poker chips. I’ve personally made many decisions in life that were very difficult and ultimately unknowing of the potential outcome in the pursuit of happiness.
I don’t regret any of those choices, even the ones that didn’t end up like I had hoped.
 
With creative pursuits / hobbies, my #1 criteria is personal satisfaction.

I’ve been in a few bands, and I knew it was time to quit when practice became a chore. No matter how much I enjoyed the music we made, or how much I personally liked my other band mates, if I dreaded going to practice, I knew it was time to move on.

With personal / profession endeavors, I tend to hold on longer than I should. My ex-wife and I were married for at least a year longer than we should have been because I kept convincing myself that things will get better when “x” happens. Either “x” never happened, or when it did, a new “x” would crop up to take its place. I didn’t realize how unhappy I actually was until we separated.

I imagine with something like coaching baseball, you could probably step away for a while, evaluate your new circumstances, and decide whether or not to return to it later. Maybe a break is what you need in order to really answer this question.
 
The baseball coaching was an example. I’m not coaching baseball. I stepped away already. ;-) (and glad i did, but it was a difficult decision).

Let’s do one thing on my list. Golf. When I’m on, I love the game. When I’m off, I’m beyond miserable. I’ve spent thousands on lessons recently. I played Monday. The first few holes I hit the ball better, but still struggled. I had a few good holes, and felt good. Finally playing better. Then the wheels fell off, and I couldn’t hit the ball to save my life. Couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong either. Then I questioned whether I should even play golf. No team to let down, but it has high highs and low lows.

Also, I don’t see shades of gray. In my world, it’s black or white. I’m on, or i’m off. There is no middle. Once I pull in the direction of “off”, it’s really off and hard to get back on the “on” train.

Not looking for sympathy, or an Atta-boy, or “yeah, just quit”… just seeing when others realize its time to let something you love, but it frustrates the hell out of you too, go
 
krafticus said:
The baseball coaching was an example. I’m not coaching baseball. I stepped away already. ;-) (and glad i did, but it was a difficult decision).

Let’s do one thing on my list. Golf. When I’m on, I love the game. When I’m off, I’m beyond miserable. I’ve spent thousands on lessons recently. I played Monday. The first few holes I hit the ball better, but still struggled. I had a few good holes, and felt good. Finally playing better. Then the wheels fell off, and I couldn’t hit the ball to save my life. Couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong either. Then I questioned whether I should even play golf. No team to let down, but it has high highs and low lows.

Also, I don’t see shades of gray. In my world, it’s black or white. I’m on, or i’m off. There is no middle. Once I pull in the direction of “off”, it’s really off and hard to get back on the “on” train.

Not looking for sympathy, or an Atta-boy, or “yeah, just quit”… just seeing when others realize its time to let something you love, but it frustrates the hell out of you too, go
Click to expand...
I completely suck at golf. Despite that, I look at it like an opportunity to hang with some friends, drink a few beers and maybe hit an occasional good shot or two.

I’ll NEVER be good at golf but occasionally it’s exactly what I want to be doing.
 
Is it possible to take a break from whatever you're referring to instead of throwing in the towel completely?
I tend to get bored of things from time to time, so I move onto something else for a bit and eventually I'll either miss it, or I won't. I actually stopped playing cards for awhile, and then I realized I missed it. Then I needed supplies, which lead to the thought of custom chips, and here I am..
 
For me, it simply comes down to the enjoyment factor. Life is far too short to waste on stuff (or people) you don't enjoy.
 

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