Speaker notes
The worst movie my wife and I ever saw was Seven Six-Gunners.
Rented VCR. My wife likes westerns. The summary sounded interesting.
Bad acting (bartender – hippie off the streets reading lines from cue cards). Plot was lost in the sagebrush. Camera work and sets looked like a class project from 1st year film student. End was like almost sneezing.
Ten minutes in, we commented on how bad it was. We watched the entire 90 minutes.
Why?
Sunk costs
Sunk costs is the feeling that you need to keep going because you’ve already invested time and/or money and made a decision.
Here’s another way it shows up:
We went to a Mexican restaurant. I ordered a burrito. Picture made it look small – ordered a side of refried beans.
Burrito was huge.
I ate all of it and half the beans – because I’d paid for it.
Another example:
You’re in a job that you used to love. But now you’re just going through the motions. You get an offer for a job that will give you the chance to develop new skills. But you’ve spent the last 12 years working your way up. Career plateau – but sunk costs will keep you stuck.
Sunk costs – will keep you stuck in bad relationships, bad job, house, neighborhood you really should move away from.
In business or investments – throw good money after bad.
You think that if you keep going and keep trying that you’ll recoup your investment.
Gamblers have the same motivation. Keep playing and I’ll get it all back.
How do you keep from getting sucked into the sunk-cost vortex?
Coach’s question: “How’s that working out for you?”
Is what I’m doing getting me the results I want?
- Step back and imagine what you’d say to someone in exact same position.
- Look at cost of opportunities you’ll miss.
- Reconcile sunk costs as lost.
Let the past be past. Let it go and decide what kind of future you want for yourself.
If life isn’t working out the way you want, change your mindset and make it work for you.
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