Why Quitting the Wrong Path Can Be the Most Successful Choice You’ll Ever Make.

The journey of success is often portrayed as a strenuous uphill battle, demanding sacrifice and struggle at every turn. But what if this narrative doesn't tell the full story? What if true, deep success is actually found in letting go rather than holding on tight?

My recent attempt to walk the Via Francigena in Tuscany became an unexpected lesson in what success really means. Inspired by a previous fulfilling experience walking the Camino de Santiago in Portugal, I sought that same liberating feeling - the joy of simply putting one foot in front of the other with no obligations beyond the basics of walking, eating and finding shelter. I wanted that beautiful simplicity again, the freedom from achievement-oriented thinking.

Yet what I encountered in Italy was starkly different. While the Camino provided a structure that created freedom, the Via Francigena imposed constraints that pushed me back into a mindset of calculations, time management and problem-solving. The Italian cultural rhythm with afternoon closures, the scarcity of accommodation, the constant need to coordinate arrival times - all of these elements prevented me from finding that walking rhythm I sought. Add to this unexpected knee pain that made walking increasingly difficult and my pilgrimage quickly turned into what felt like failure.

This perceived failure triggered a cascade of self-judgment. How could I speak about deep, heartfelt success when I couldn't even complete a walking trip? The shame and recrimination brought back memories of burnout years, creating what felt like an existential crisis condensed into 48 intense hours. But within this crisis lay a profound discovery: I hadn't failed to walk the Via Francigena - the Via Francigena had failed to provide what I needed. The quitting itself was my success.

Returning home with painful knees, I committed to experiencing what I'd initially sought in Italy - deep rest, freedom from obligation and presence in the moment. I sat under my apple tree during an unexpectedly warm English spring, watching my garden burst into bloom with unprecedented abundance. I practiced what I call "deliberate non-achievement," allowing myself to fully inhabit each moment without agenda or striving.

What emerged was a profound lesson: what we seek is often already present if we simply adjust our focus. By pausing to truly experience what was already in my life - the beauty, security, love and freedom - I found these qualities expanding. Contentment began to feel deliciously rebellious in a culture obsessed with more, better, faster. There's something exquisitely countercultural about saying "this is enough" and meaning it.

This doesn't mean abandoning ambition or drive. In fact, after several weeks of this deep integration and rest, my creative impulses returned with renewed vigor. But they returned differently - with a desire to produce less but better, to serve more deeply rather than more broadly. The pause hadn't diminished my productivity; it had refined and focused it.

The experience revealed that there are hidden pockets of joy waiting to be discovered if we dare to pause long enough to notice them. The pathway to deep, heartfelt success isn't about accumulating more achievements but about deepening our capacity to fully experience what we already have. This awareness practice - what I call "Neutral Noticing" - allows us to step out of judgmental thinking and into embodied presence. 

Success, viewed through this lens, becomes less about what we accomplish and more about how fully we live. It's a gentle rebellion against the narrative that anything worth having requires pain and sacrifice. What if the deepest fulfillment comes not from striving harder but from seeing more clearly what's already here? Perhaps that's the ultimate success - not the mountain climbed but the vista fully appreciated.