The sunk cost theory

Always keep the “sunk cost theory” in mind.

Are you doing something because it actually makes sense – because you want to do it or because it is providing some value to you or serving a purpose? Or are you doing it because you’ve already “invested” so much time, money, or energy doing it and you think about everything that would have been wasted if you quit now?

In reality, you can’t get back the time, money, or energy you’ve already spent. You can’t recoup that. So the question becomes, are you willing to waste more time, money, and energy now just to see the project through? Are you willing to “throw good money after bad?”

Take a step back and ask yourself this question… “If I didn’t have ANYTHING invested in this and I have all of the information that I have today, would I still invest in doing this task?” If the answer is no, then it’s probably best to let it go.

We only have a finite amount of these resources. When we say “yes” to making suboptimal choices, we are inherently saying “no” to making better choices. We can’t be in two places at once. Most people have to make either/or decisions when it comes to buying things because we don’t have unlimited money. And our energy waxes and wanes, but if we keep beating our heads against a wall and doing things that don’t serve us or energize us, we will feel depleted of energy long before we need to. Don’t continue to do something that doesn’t work just because you have a sunken cost – it will only cost you more time, money, and energy in the long run.

Are you teaching yourself to be resilient?

When life doesn’t go as planned (and it hardly ever does), roll with the punches. Build your resilience. Don’t quit when things get tough. That is when you need to stick it out. Adapt and overcome. If you succeed and still want to quit, do it then, but not before. Otherwise you will train yourself to become a quitter.