In this monologue Sam Qurashi explores the dilemma of whether to keep practicing a skill or activity that feels difficult or unsatisfying. He introduces a "liminal" or middle‑ground concept that cautions against both premature abandonment and blind persistence. Qurashi argues that before deciding to quit, two questions must be answered: (1) have you performed the activity properly, and (2) have you done it enough – meaning for a sufficient duration or intensity. He illustrates this with an antibiotic analogy, showing how improper dosage or insufficient length can render an effort ineffective. Qurashi then shifts to the psychological side, emphasizing the importance of granting oneself explicit permission to walk away. By verbally or mentally declaring the option to leave, a person reduces the pressure of feeling trapped, whether in a business (e.g., Instagram), a relationship, or any personal project. This sense of choice can actually make continued effort feel freer and more enjoyable. The overall message is that thoughtful evaluation of execution, duration, and personal agency can guide whether to persist or step back.
Chapters
Bulletproof radio, a state of high performance. So how would I use that? I want to learn faster. I mean, Jim Quick's been on multiple times. Is there a way to use that liminal idea to say, all right, I'm going to choose. Do I keep practicing this thing that I suck at, or do I stop and change how I do it?
In terms of the. So an example of the liminalistic concept of middle ground is not moving on from something too quickly. And this is still a work in progress. I'm still just constantly tweaking it. But one thing that comes to mind, based on what you just said or what you asked, is if you're trying something and it's not working, a lot of people that don't believe in something, they don't even give it a shot. And if they do, they try, which is great. It doesn't work. Then they walk away. The problem is there are two things that need to be addressed before you walk away, or you might be missing out on something very valuable for you, whether it's a skill you want to learn or an actual behavior you want to adopt. Have you done it properly? Did I do it properly and did I do it enough? I'll give you an example. If I'm giving someone an antibiotic for five days and they're supposed to take it three times a day for five days. If they did it okay. If they took two tabs three times a day, and that's. So they took it beyond. Or they took it fewer, they. Let's say they took one tab a day, they didn't do it properly. If they did it properly, but they didn't do it long enough because they took two tablets, you know, one tablet twice a day for three days, but they didn't take it for five days, they didn't do it long enough. So the question is, did you do it properly? Did you do it enough? And enough could be many things, including, did you do it long enough? If you haven't, then you might be walking away from something. These are two questions that are really important to be asked before you decide to walk away. Giving yourself the option to walk away while remaining where you are. Again, it feels like, no, I gotta make a decision. It's important to have the option to walk away. I'll give you an example. First, me. Sometimes when you reach a point, like, you have your own empire, you created your company, you, for me, let's say Instagram. Sometimes, if I reach a point that I get a bit frustrated with something, you would. You'd start to feel trapped. So what most people do is they try to push through that. But what most people feel the need to do but choose not to do, but they can, is give yourself permission to walk away from what you have done. Because the truth is, if I just say, you know what, I'm just going to walk away from Instagram, you just make that declaration verbally walk out of the room. What you just did is you kind of gave yourself what you wanted. You wanted freedom because you felt trapped in that moment. You created the. You created that, met that kind of illusion of walking away. You don't want to walk away. A lot of times in relationships, the person storms out. If you give yourself the opportunity to walk away from something, you're giving yourself permission to remind yourself that you have choice to do it. And that ties into something very important. You choose. You're choosing to do it. You chose to start this. You don't have to continue. And sometimes just reminding yourself that you don't have to continue takes away the pressure that allows you to continue and enjoy and be comfortable with it, if that makes sense.
