The Sunk Cost Fallacy And Self Improvement - Part 2
April 10, 2008 | In Changing Mindset - Action Steps |
Table of contents for Sunk Costs
- The Sunk Cost Fallacy And Self Improvement - Part 1
- The Sunk Cost Fallacy And Self Improvement - Part 2
Yesterday, in Part 1, I discussed what the sunk cost fallacy is and how it applies to self improvement. In Part 2, I address the question:
Why do we keep going?
There are many, many people who don’t hold onto things that aren’t working. For every person who holds onto something that isn’t working there are probably several that are giving up before something really starts working. I know that I’ve been guilty of doing both at the same time - I’ll stick with a diet long past it’s expiration date in my life, but switch exercise routines every couple of weeks. Why do we switch on some things, but hold on in others?
1. It worked in the past. This is probably the biggest reason. If something doesn’t work for us at all, we are likely to give up. However, if a particular routine does have results, even if only small ones, we are more likely to stick with it. The problem comes when we stick with it even though it’s no longer bringing truly meaningful results. We hold onto the belief that it’s us who is messing up, not that the method doesn’t work long term.
2. We don’t want to admit that we aren’t making progress. Because we achieved results when we started a particular process, we don’t want to let go of the fact that it isn’t still working - we may celebrate victories so small we can convince ourselves that they are significant when they really aren’t. Maybe we don’t want to admit it because we’ve talked it up to everyone and told them how much it’s helping. We will feel like a failure if we give up. Again, it’s the method that’s failed, not us, but we don’t want to say so.
3. We don’t want to have our efforts have been a “waste”. The financial side of the sunk cost fallacy may be at work here. If we’ve bought books, paid for training sessions, or paid for therapists, we don’t want our money to be “for nothing.” On the other hand, maybe we haven’t invested money, but we’ve invested time. In this way, we’ve contributed a lot of hard work to the effort and we don’t want our hard work to be “for nothing” either. Again, psychologically, we find fault with ourselves, and not with the method.
4. We don’t want to put in the hard effort of finding a way that does work. Once we’ve committed to a particular method and put in time, effort and maybe even money, we feel more pain leaving than we do sticking with it. We don’t want to “start at the bottom” again with a new method. For instance, if we are working with a therapist, even if it’s not working, we have developed a certain level of rapport with that therapist. I know one of the reasons I was reluctant to switch was because I would have to face that fear of letting down my barriers again. It was easier (for a time at least) to stay where I was least a little comfortable than to switch and be totally uncomfortable again.
5. We’re too close to see that it doesn’t make sense to continue. Here’s the saddest and hardest part to face. Sometimes we stick with something simply because we can’t see that it’s not really working. As I said above, we may be making enough progress to make us confident that it is working. However, someone on the outside can see that we should “cut our losses” and switch to something else. They may see that we are fighting for every half pound lost and it’s making us into total jerks. They may be able to see that our exercise routine is stressing us out as we cut out time with our friends to fit it in to a limited schedule. They may see that we are sad more of the time than when we started therapy, but don’t want to offend us if we justify it by saying “I’m processing some really heavy stuff right now.”
Combating The Sunk Cost Fallacy
Unfortunately, with finances or with other aspects of self improvement, the sunk cost fallacy is easy to slip into and hard to get out of. Not impossible, however. The next time you are struggling with a particular method I encourage you to sit down and really think about it. Are you getting the results you hoped to get? If not, is it truly because you aren’t “working hard enough at it”, or is it likely that it just isn’t working long term? Most likely, it’s the method and not you.
If you still aren’t sure, ask a friend or family member if they think you are changing for the better. Tell them you want an honest evaluation because you want to know if you should continue. You don’t want to give up if you are simply discouraged, but you don’t want to spend any more time if it’s stopped working.
In my own life, I’ve faced several down times over the past few months. When I first started on my medication, I was sure it wasn’t working (before I got to the sweet point where I thought it had totally reversed all my problems.) My husband noted that it was helping me. He told me I was a lot more balanced and didn’t slip into that “pit of despair” place. Therefore, I realized I was simply discouraged and not buying into the sunk cost fallacy.
In the case of Weight Watchers, I finally realized that the program wasn’t serving me. I had convinced myself for months that I wasn’t working the program strictly enough. However, when I took a good hard look at it, I could see that it wasn’t the program, but rather my own body’s need for different kinds of foods that was making the method not work. (Weight Watchers is mostly a fat controlled diet, but I need a carb controlled diet. Unfortunately, when you lower the fat, you raise the carbs, which was the opposite of what I really needed.)
As you can see, I’ve been caught up in the sunk cost fallacy myself. However, now that I realize it, it’s a lot easier to be on the lookout and avoid stepping into the trap again.
Have you done this in your life? I would love to hear your story, or any other thoughts in the comments below.
Photo Credits: Hand Holding onto Pole by thalling55; Handprint In The Sand by Kyknoord; Soldier by nukeit1; Fork In The Road by i_yudai
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