You always say ’I’ll quit when I start to slide’, and then one morning you wake up and realize you’ve done slid.

Attributed to boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson, the line captures a common self-deception about decline: people promise they will stop (a habit, a career, a risky behavior) at the first sign of deterioration, imagining they will recognize the turning point in time. The punchline—waking up to find you have already “slid”—suggests that decline is often gradual and easiest to rationalize while it is happening. In a sporting context, it speaks to aging athletes who believe they can retire the moment they lose a step, only to discover that the loss of speed, timing, or hunger becomes clear in hindsight. More broadly, it warns that waiting for unmistakable evidence can mean waiting too long.