Sunk Cost Fallacies

It takes discernment to know when to cut our losses and move on.

Good morning!

Have you ever heard of the sunk cost fallacy?

Every now and then, you try to get something to work, and it really isn’t working, and after your efforts are exhausted, you have two options: you either continue to invest more and more of your time, money, and energy, with no guarantee of return, or you cut your losses and move on.

Most of us, because we know how much effort we’ve put in to try to make something work already, want to keep trying and can’t seem to give up and accept defeat—and in a lot of areas of life, that’s good! But imagine if you bought a car for $2,000, spent $4,000 on repairs, it still wasn’t working, and a properly working one in good condition would cost you less than what you’ve already spent on repairs.

If you give up, you can sell the car for parts (since they’re all brand new), and maybe make back some of your money to buy a different one that actually works; but, knowing how much you’ve invested into the car, you will likely want to continue working on it to make it work. That’s when you have to ask yourself the question: “How much more am I willing to spend on this before I recognize that it simply is not worth the effort?”

Likewise, there are toxic relationships that we sometimes get into that simply show no signs of improvement; we can try and try and try all day long, and spend weeks, months, or even years trying to make things work with the other person, but if the relationship’s toxic and shows no improvement, isn’t it best to just cut your losses and move on? (Only advocating for this if you’ve actively tried to fix things already, I would never condone divorce for a mere lack of feelings for one’s spouse).

In order to have healthy and fulfilling lives, we must have the wisdom and discernment to know when to cut our losses and move on.

God bless you, have a great day!