I’ve been thinking about this for a week or so now but after reading about one of my friends’ battle with a running injury called “the Lean” (kind of imagine what it says), I thought this was a good time to write about it.

Is there a difference in these two commands? And, if so, what is the difference? Who cares?

The last question is the easiest to answer. You should care especially if you care about supporting people, not just in athletic events but in all aspects of life.

If you write (or tell) “Just Keep Going” that makes the recipient feel that they will let you down if they can’t. There may be a physical injury that they could make worse. They may not know whether it’s that or not. In life, the individual may feel they will have to keep slugging along even if their gut feeling is that it may not be the correct action or decision.

You’d be surprised (or maybe you won’t be) how influential peer pressure is and how many people succumb to it. So, be careful what you advise.

In contrast, “Don’t Quit” gives people an option to slow down or even stop, assess the pros and cons or the possible dangers of going along the same old way. What “don’t quit” means is to keep pursuing your goal. The emphasis there is on YOUR goal. But we all know that there are different ways to achieve goals. Sometimes you can plod along on the highway straight ahead but at other times, you may need to stop and get gas, food and maybe even get some rest. Once, that is one, it’s also possible you might hear about road construction up ahead slowing all the traffic down. Or maybe weather conditions prevent safely continuing on the originally planned route. You’re not going to turn around and go home (depending, of course, on massive weather shutdowns but that’s not the norm). You’re going to reassess how to get to city X. You talk to some people, check things on your map app, call AAA or a combination of these. Once your plans have been revised, you’ll head off, most likely in another direction on another road. Maybe it will be longer, maybe shorter, maybe bumpier, maybe smoother. Who knows (that’s part of the excitement)? But you’ll get there. You didn’t quit. You reassessed and revised and regrouped.

Life is like that. If your goal is to help people you care about, then you’ll apply the “don’t quit” philosophy and offer help along the way. You’ll cheer them on as they regroup.

What are your thoughts and even more, how has this affected you in your life?