January 19, 2026
Last week I was talking with one of my best friends about our kids and what sports they were pursuing.
As we went through each of our kids the topic continued to expand to our circles of friends and we naturally started discussing how some parents just let their kids “try something out” and when they decide they don’t like the coach or the team they just let them quit.
This is not an option in our house.
Once our kids sign up for a sport, the team is counting on them and depending on them to be there.
Even if they are the worst player on the team, they are going to be at practice and at every single game, showing up ready and willing to participate because they made a commitment.
Back to the story of trying something out.
This mentality generates a problem that is rampant in our culture today as we have an entire generation of adults who were allowed to just try something out as kids and quit when it became uncomfortable.
A lesson in teaching them that a commitment really doesn’t matter and that even as adults, they don’t have to see anything through because there is “always another option.”
I need to clarify a point here.
There is a difference between trying something out as a curiosity and making a commitment.
Some are curious about learning the piano so they may take an introductory lesson before signing up for a semester of classes.
Some are curious about basketball so they may buy a basketball and go play at the local playground before entertaining the idea of joining a team.
Some are curious about reclaiming their health so they may go through with a complimentary consultation, buy a book about nutrition or exercise or sign up for an introductory class at a gym.
But this is vastly differently from making the commitment verbally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
What I have instilled in myself as a person is that I have many curiosities HOWEVER, once I break the barrier of curiosity and make the commitment, in my world there is no “I quit.”
I burn the ships on any option other than forward.
I see the process through.
If I am told it will take a year, I commit.
If I am told it will take me 20 years, I commit.
Even if I know I have other options on the table, I convince myself that I don’t.
In my opinion, “let me just try it out” is the most non-committed response you can ever give.
Trying something out means you have other options.
It means you are really not sure if you are going to like what you signed up for.
It means you are giving yourself an escape clause the minute the heat is turned up and you are exposed.
It means that you are someone who is not reliable and not someone to be depended upon.
It means that you have every intention of quitting.
Ultimately trying something out means that you will never subject yourself to a process long enough to allow your entire being to be transformed into what you originally set out to be.
This is what I call the eternal race for the carrot.
You see when you decide to try something out with the intention of quitting you never really go all in on anything in your life and therefore at the slightest increase in difficulty you quit.
With this as an option, you always know that you have an out.
So if you find yourself exposed from this email as someone who is part of the “let me try it out” mentality in all facets of your life, I have a suggestion for you.
Reduce the number of options on the table because having a lack of options is the ultimate motivator to succeed.
Go all in on at least five things this year.
Instead of responding with ill give it a try, respond with a committed “I’m all in.”
You will quickly discover that making the decision to go all in forces you to evaluate your excuses you have used in the past and to realize that the actual commitment is going to require more from you than you ever realized.
This is one of the most important lessons you can teach yourself.
Committed people learn how to not only take control and responsibility, they are also willing to see things through from start to finish.
This is how results are achieved.
This is how transformation takes place.
This is how you win.
Burn the ships and go all in with no other option but to succeed, then, a year from now, gather the evidence of what transformed your life from changing from a quitter to a super star.
You might just surprise yourself with the results.