The antidote to sunk cost bias

Sunk cost bias causes otherwise smart people to make irrational decisions when investing resources, based on previous investments that can’t be recovered.

A simple example is choosing to go to an event because you already spent money on tickets, despite being sick and not wanting to go.  A longer term and more toxic example might be the desire to fix an awful, abusive relationship, or continuously endure a job you hate just because you have so many years “invested”.

The antidote to overcoming this bias is to ask yourself: What would my choice be if I had no previous investment, and was starting from where I am now, with what I know now?

Smart is as smart does

People are considered smart because they have an advanced degree, an impressive vocabulary, or are well-read. But how we apply what we know is more important than what we actually know.

When I read a book, attend a seminar, pay attention to people wiser than me, or make a mistake, I always look for the take-aways and biggest learnings. The best way to do this is to ask: how will I use this?

Learning but not making use of it is roughly the same as not learning in the first place.

Conversation or violence

If there’s a way forward in building a peaceful global civilization among 7 billion people, we must understand that ideas spread and persuasion works along a continuum of only two things: conversation and violence.

Each of us can choose to be accountable, improve our abilities to converse, debate, and disagree peacefully, so we don’t move the wrong way.

Two things to remember:

1)  Always contend with arguments, not people

2)  You have not been victimized because you heard something with which you disagree or find offensive.   Learn to separate your views and beliefs from you as a person (your ego).