Gifts from the past

Be slow to accept gifts from your past self. It's easy to fall for the sunk cost fallacy. It's hard to let go of what you've already invested in; things you've already committed to.

From a previous issue:

Once we start a course of action we feel compelled to finish it - not because it will bring further reward, but because we take pleasure in being consistent. Changing your tune can mean admitting you were wrong... The pain of changing course seems greater than staying put.

Seth Godin refers to the sunk-cost fallacy as a gift from our past selves. We made a decision we thought would benefit us in the future - now, with the benefit of hindsight, we can choose to accept that gift or change course.

An idea I've been waiting to cover at length is the end-of-history illusion. It's a psychological fallacy affecting people of all ages. We acknowledge and happily boast of the profound personal growth and changes in taste we've had over the years, but consistently underestimate our capacity to grow in the future. Simply put, we make decisions for people that don’t exist yet. In the future, you may not be the person you expect them to be.