What do you want to do now?

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’ve already put up with (insert agonizing class that you wish you never signed up for here) for so long, I might as well finish,” or “I know this person makes me unhappy, but I’ve been with him/her so long that I can’t stop seeing them now,” or maybe you didn’t actually even think about it, but you ate food that you already paid for even though it wasn’t that delicious once you got it. Have you ever really thought about why you do these things?

An economist would argue that what you’ve already done is a sunk cost, and thus shouldn’t affect your future decisions. So it shouldn’t matter that you suffered in the past through that boring economics class, an unhappy relationship, or buying bad food. You’ve already paid for it in the form of wasting your life. Instead, you should think about what you want to do now. If you want to change your major, end a torturous relationship, or order a different meal, you can do it! No matter what, you can’t get back those hours you spent on painful econ homework, you can’t get back the unhappy years you spent with someone, and you can’t get back the money you spent on the meal you don’t want. The only things to do now are to cut your losses and make new decisions. Next time, instead of saying, “I’ve already paid for it, I might as well finish it,” maybe you should say, “I’ve already paid for it and enough is enough!”

This can also be applied to other traditions. This doesn’t mean you should stop following traditions altogether. But think about why you follow them. “I’ve always shaved my legs,” “I’ve always drank (drunken?) milk,” or “I’ve never done yoga.” Are you following traditions just because you always have, or because it’s what you actually want to do now? Decide which ones you really want to follow. For the record, I do shave my legs, but I don’t drink milk and I do yoga.