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Phrase: Quit while you’re ahead
We, humans, are amazing creatures.
I say that because we are so driven to achieve perfection that, on an individual basis, we often forget or refuse to quit while we’re ahead.
By that, I mean you can’t improve on perfection, but we try anyway and risk ruining our achievement.
An excellent example of this is my favourite band of all time AC/DC.
They released their first album in 1975 when I was less than two years old.
The group has been consistent and successful with very little of the foolishness concerning drugs etc., that surrounds many rock ‘n’ roll bands.
The lead guitarist, Angus Young, is now 65 years old but doesn’t want to quit.
The thing is, one member has passed away, another finally got into drug trouble in his early 60s, and the singer is 72 years old and going deaf.
It’s time to quit while you’re ahead and retire gracefully, but Angus wants to make another album while the band is deteriorating around him.
It’s sad.
Sport provides us with more examples of athletes refusing to quit while they’re ahead.
We’ve all seen it before.
A professional who has had a very successful career continues pushing for just one more year.
They are chasing the glory and admiration they had when they were younger, but their body can no longer perform like it once did.
There’s no shame in that.
We all slow down as we age.
However, instead of quitting while they’re ahead and retiring in a blaze of glory, they fade away as the oldest guy on the field.
There’s a lot of wisdom in knowing when to quit while you’re ahead.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 73.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.
