Sunk cost fallacy - continuing doing something just because you don’t want your resources, that you have already invested, to be lost. These resources can be time, emotions, money, etc.
EXAMPLE OF SUNK COST FALLACY
For example, a boy is attending musical school and he is now in third grade. This boy has to study for 4 more years to finish the school. But the boy is more into science and he does not like music at all: he doesn’t spend much time listening to music, he doesn’t play the instrument at home, he doesn’t want to attend the school and he doesn’t want to be related to music. Yet, his parents might reason that they have already invested a lot of time and money into it. So, if he quits the school - all these resources will be lost. And that is why parents advice their kid to stay in musical school and finish it. And parents would be right - if the kid quit, all these resources would be lost. BUT, the fallacy here would be that if the kid continues to play musical instrument, all these additional resources required for him to continue attending school will be lost, too. In other words - you lost something and you continue to lose.
SUNK COST FALLACY IN WEIGHTLIFTING CONTEXT
Below are some hypothetical examples:
1. You bough gym membership. Each workout costs you about 15 dollars and your overall budget is very tight. But, suddenly, you caught the flu: your head is spinning, your temperature is high, your nose is running, you feel tired and week. Despite that, you still decide to go to the gym, because you don’t want to lose your 15 dollars. In this case you have already lost your 15 dollars, because of your sickness you are not functional enough to have an “appropriate” and beneficial workout. But by going to the gym you might also be making your health condition worse.
2. You are arguing with someone on the internet about some “weightlifting stuff”. The argument is pretty tense and personal. Despite the feeling that this argument is not leading you anywhere, you continue to argue, because if you stop, then all your emotional investment will be lost. But by continuing to argue and to be emotionally involved in it you simply continue to invest your own wellbeing.
3. You are following strength training program. The program is pretty intense and 4 weeks long. You want to test what results you can get with it. And everything was going well with this program, but the last week of training you injured your shoulder. You decide to finish the last week of program with injured shoulder, because if you quit the program, then all your effort that you put into followig this program will be lost. But in this case you have already lost your effort, because with injured shoulder you will not be able to test how much your strength has increased. And by training with injured shoulder you might also prolong the time needed for shoulder to heal.
4. You bought a mass gainer. It cost you 100 dollars. You made one shake and after that spent the rest of the evening in your toilet room. Next day - the same story. But you continue using this mass gainer, because otherwise your money will be lost. In this case you have already lost your money, but by using it you are also damaging your digestive system.
BUT keeping in mind the question:
2. You are arguing with someone on the internet about some “weightlifting stuff”. The argument is pretty tense and personal. Despite the feeling that this argument is not leading you anywhere, you continue to argue, because if you stop, then all your emotional investment will be lost. But by continuing to argue and to be emotionally involved in it you simply continue to invest your own wellbeing.
3. You are following strength training program. The program is pretty intense and 4 weeks long. You want to test what results you can get with it. And everything was going well with this program, but the last week of training you injured your shoulder. You decide to finish the last week of program with injured shoulder, because if you quit the program, then all your effort that you put into followig this program will be lost. But in this case you have already lost your effort, because with injured shoulder you will not be able to test how much your strength has increased. And by training with injured shoulder you might also prolong the time needed for shoulder to heal.
4. You bought a mass gainer. It cost you 100 dollars. You made one shake and after that spent the rest of the evening in your toilet room. Next day - the same story. But you continue using this mass gainer, because otherwise your money will be lost. In this case you have already lost your money, but by using it you are also damaging your digestive system.
DIFFICULTIES WITH USING IT FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT
1) We have bounded rationality and we can’t be sure what exact future consequences might be. Maybe you feel a little sick, but you still go to the gym and understand that it doesn’t have any impact on your training.
2) You still might reach the point, where benefits are greater than the costs.
3) Being too much oriented towards the sunk cost fallacy might create the habbit of “quitting without trying”.
BUT keeping in mind the question:
“It doesn’t look like I am benefiting from “it” (“insert your own situation here’)
Maybe I am doing “it” just because I have already invested resources into “it”and I don’t want to lose them?”
...in some situations might help you to make decisions.
