I’ve been watching the TV show “Naked & Afraid” with LML lately. A Rather interesting concept, two people (one man and one woman) are dropped off in a survival situation with only one item each (usually a machete and a fire starter) no clothes and have to survive for 21 days. We’ve been watching it because the gifts have been at their father’s, I don’t think it’s appropriate for them, even though they blur out the survivors' bits. We’re on Season 3 and what struck me is that they never talk about quitting, but always refer to it as “tapping out”. I didn’t really notice it at first, but then, NO ONE ever quit, no one ever “gave up”, the ones who couldn’t make it “tapped out”.
Without going to look up dictionary definitions and on the surface this may seem like the same thing, I see a rather distinct difference in it. To quit means you’re giving up. It’s a first-person action. You don’t have the strength, skill, courage, stamina or whatever to keep going so you stop. This is entirely a reflection of the person. On the other hand, when you “tap out” that means the forces applied to you were too great to overcome. I believe it’s from a boxing/wrestling origin in which the loser of the match is counted out with tapping on the mat. Therefore, if one is to “tap out” it’s a reflection of the overwhelming force against them, not necessarily of their inability to overcome it. It puts the onus on the force, not the person.
Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s better to accept defeat and quit, to take responsibility or to shift the fault to the forces against you and tap out. I lean toward taking responsibility and admit it’s quitting, but if it helps people feel better about themselves, then tap out! Then again, even as I write this it feels like “giving everyone a participation ribbon” and not taking ownership of our own actions, limitations and faults.
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