If we dedicate most of our lives in lets say, a project, we treat this "creation" like a baby. This baby is then considered a symbol of ones effort and greatest achievements. However, if this project reaches its limit of success and starts developing issues that no longer can be solved, it is in our hands to decide what to do next.
A freak would know the answer to this problem in a heart beat.
Before reading over this chapter I had a somewhat a biased mentality when it came to quitting. In my mind one who was a quitter was lazy and undetermined, when in fact it might mean the contrary. Someone willing to walk a way from an idea and start over is considered proactive and efficient, this person has taken the risk to quit a meaningless project (job, school, idea, etc.) and shift himself towards a possibly greater alternative. On the other hand, one who is a slacker would have done otherwise when it came to this risk of starting over.
This year's iWeek, was the time I could put all of the summer readings and key take aways in place. Working together as a community I was able to point out certain faults and behaviors I didn't quite come to notice before reading both "Excellent Sheep" and "Think Like a Freak". In relation to the chapter "The upsides of quitting" from Think Like a Freak, I recall a specific scenario that involved "starting over" and thinking of possible alternatives.
During iWeek I worked together with the collaboration group, in this group we designed various systems and spaces that would help our community (classroom) work as a whole throughout the year. One of the spaces designed consisted on remodeling the classroom structure in order to portray this collaborative vibe within the class. When thinking this structure through we had a clear vision of what we wanted the space to look like, but once we physically put it in place, it didn't turn out as expected. Our initial table and couch structure idea failed and we knew that in order to succeed we had to put this idea aside and start over.
This innovative and active mentality is something we should all take in consideration; knowing the right time to quit an idea and not be afraid to try different alternatives might be the ultimate key to success, either in professional or social situations.