Is the squeeze worth the juice?
If life is abundant, then why do we want more?
Hold on to your answer.
The worst thing that can happen in my life is when the day comes that I say, I’ve done enough… it’s time to go.
The best thing that can happen in my life is when I say, I am doing enough, but it’s never going to be enough, so I can’t go.
The paradox here, is that I am doing enough, but I know it’s not enough, which means I’m going to grab today, rinse it for what it’s worth, let the residue of juice splash on the soil, watch it soak and feel strangely satisfied that I have contributed worth to the soil of the earth.
My thought comes from the fact that we are not here for long, but we will be a long time gone.
No one knows what’s on the other side, so that means no one has the right to tell you how to live your finite life. So, on that account, no one should be able to tell you what you can and can’t do; Not even you, right?
Let’s unpack that to get your answer, but still hold on to your answer to the first question I proposed at the top.
The “can’t” is contextual. If the “can’t” is beyond ambitious, then it's a case of weighing up the costs. The costs of the fallacy, has it sunk?
The Sunk Cost Fallacy describes our likelihood to follow through on a venture, aspiration, or desire if we have already invested time, effort, or money into it, even though the current costs outweigh the benefits.
Sunk costs are the costs that you cannot get back, no matter what.
Let’s take one individual. They go to a restaurant or order a home delivery. They order way too much food and even though they know it’s too much for them to handle in one sitting, they overeat just to get their money’s worth. That doesn’t sound rational right? Undoubtably, me included, we have all experienced this scenario.
Another example of the sunk cost fallacy is a person that brought a discounted £35 (I’m in England UK, so we earn and spend pounds over here) ticket to a concert. They arrange childcare, drive a two-hour journey through severe weather, intense traffic, put miles and miles on their engine, pay for extortionate parking, all because they feel they should honour their initial investment. Again, not rational right (maybe, you’ll argue it was a bloody brilliant band they were going to watch, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make)?
The costs outweigh the benefits. The costs incurred, being the time, fuel, childcare, inconvenience, and other financial outlays, all get held in a different mental account with the ticket investment. That’s the way we are wired when it comes to the sunk cost fallacy.
So, this fallacy props up everywhere in our lives and has an impact on our everyday lives and can be at fault for ruining your decisions because of the mind/emotion battle of the rational/irrational thought process.
Well, how can we identify sunk cost fallacy, and find ways to deal with it?
We’ll start with the sunk cost analysis. This is explained by, if you ever use something what you paid for as a reason for keeping it.
The only reason to keep something is because you like what it’s going to do in the future. It's not “how we got here,” it’s, “how we get there.”
The analysis can continue through possessions. Think of the “second car”. You are one half of a couple and you both work, both sharing responsibilities, and you’re pretty much equal in all areas of your lives. One of you commutes to work by public transport 5 days a week. The other one is heavily reliant on the car for everyday commuting and you both enjoy each other’s company on the weekend, or you both have individual hobbies, clubs, sports that you’re committed to. You decide to purchase a new second car. You buy it on finance and the investment will set you back £25,000 over 5 years.
You find that the new car brings more stress, you’re both working harder to make the payments, and by the time the weekend comes, after your weekend side hustle for extra money, you’re both nackered and never use the car. Does the analysis of “how we get there” make sense?
Sometimes rationality disguises itself as irrationality, so another way to deal with sunk cost fallacy is with R.A.I.N. Do you use R.A.I.N to dry your irrational thoughts?
There is a wondrous lady I am beyond impressed with, for her ability to convey words that transmit peace, harmony and reflection for the power of good. The lady’s name is Tara Brach. I have mentioned her before in my writings because her magnificent mind shares have been the velvet feeling sand of the seashore for my mind to find stability. In this case, rational. How does it work
Recognise what is happening.
Allow the experience to be there, just as it is
Investigate with interest and care
Nurture with self-compassion.
The R.A.I.N tool belongs in the meditation field and it’s an aid for spiritual seeking, healing, but it does not have to be exclusive to that world. If we don’t think differently, then how do we move if conventionality doesn’t work?
Your world is abundant once you recognise it is.
If you allow the feeling of abundance to just be there, no matter how vast “abundancy” seems, there's always moments that can be investigated. When the investigation starts, the seed gets planted. Your job now is to nurture it.
What you have been reading is a Phlog. A logging of Philosophy. My writing is all over the place, but I always want it to land where it belongs, In your toolbox for self-belief. I hope it has, and before you go, I hope the answer to the first question is that you DO want more, but now you have words that can turn into the works you need for getting more to help you “get there”.
One more thing. Treat these next words like you’ve just seen them on a massive anonymous billboard… Squeeze the juice out of your abundant life today, but always ask yourself if the squeeze is worth the juice.
