← All lenses
Decide well epistemology

The Sunk-Cost Trap

Money and time already spent shouldn’t decide what you do next.

What you’ve already poured in is gone whether you continue or not — so it’s irrelevant to the choice ahead. “I’ve come this far” keeps people in bad jobs, bad projects, and bad relationships long past the point of sense. Ask only: from right here, forward, is continuing the best use of what I have now? The past spending doesn’t come back either way; don’t let it buy more of the same mistake.

Where it applies

Skills this lens bears on — open any to see the lesson.