Advice regarding the Sunken Cost Fallacy

Carrie
2025-05-12T19:16:11Z

Hello everyone,

I wanted to provide a litmus test, of sorts. This test helps you figure out if you are engaging in the Sunken Cost Fallacy.

Sometimes I find myself asking if I should quit something, let something go, move on, etc.. It can be hard to figure out what the answer to those questions are. I heard a piece of advice regarding this very struggle, and wanted to share it with you all.

Ask yourself:

Knowing what I know now, would I still make the same decision that I did?

If the answer is "No" then you are most likely in a Sunken Cost Fallacy mindset. It could be argued that you should stop whatever it is you're considering stopping.

If the answer is "Yes" it is likely you are not in a Sunken Cost Fallacy and you made a decision in line with your values, even if it may not seem like it (hence the struggling).

Disclaimers:
Knowing the answer to this question does not imply you will know what to do with the information.

This test does not really "fix" anything, so to speak, but it is intended to help you realize when you are in a sunken cost fallacy situation.

Details

What is the Sunken Cost Fallacy?

The sunk cost fallacy is our tendency to follow through with something that we’ve already invested heavily in (be it time, money, effort, or emotional energy), even when giving up is clearly a better idea.

As an example, consider you moved to a new country to start a new job, but the job really isn't what you thought it would be. You hate going to the job everyday, every aspect of it. However, you feel compelled to stick it out, for various reasons. At some point you ask yourself, "knowing what I know now, that this job is not the right fit for me, would I make the same decision?" You answer "No", and thus realize you're in a Sunken Cost Fallacy situation, and you should make steps to removing yourself from that job.

Speculation
Often we end up in situations where we don't actually have all of the information to make a wise decision, whether that's our own doing, or for matters outside of our control (how could one truly know what a job is like without doing the job? how could one truly know what a different country is like if we haven't lived there before?). In these situations, since we don't like to focus on what we can't control - not knowing the unknown-We get stuck in the sunken cost fallacy, because that is something we do know and have control over. "I've already put so much effort into this, I can't quit now" or "I can make this work, is it really that bad?"

I hope what I've written makes sense, but like all things to do with the mind, it's hard to explain outloud.

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