Sunk Costs in Your Life

The sunk cost fallacy reaches far beyond finance.

Relationships. "Seven years — I can't leave now." The length is a sunk cost. The real question is whether the relationship has a good future. But those years make leaving feel like erasing them.

Careers. "I spent four years on this degree." The degree is sunk. If the career makes you miserable, pursuing it just adds unhappy years to the studied ones.

Projects. Past effort shouldn't decide whether you continue. What matters is whether future effort produces enough future value.

Beliefs. "I've held this for twenty years — I can't be wrong." Time spent believing something doesn't make it true.