Psychological Super Powers: How to Convince Your Brain to Commit

Do you wonder if you have what it takes to create a business and stick with it? Or write that academic manuscript and get it published? How can you convince your brain to commit? You're not alone in these thoughts, and that's what we're going to talk about today in the Psychological Super Powers Series.

I want to talk about the psychological principle of the sunk-cost fallacy. It's going to relate back to how you can convince your brain.

What is the sunk-cost fallacy?

An easy example to think about this is any time you've purchased a non-refundable ticket to something, and then maybe you've gotten sick or you couldn't go any more to the event that you had planned. And when you can't go, you're actually, "You know, maybe I will go, even if I'm really sick. Maybe I have the flu, and I think having the flu would be okay if I actually went to that concert or took that vacation or went to that event."

It's the sunk-cost fallacy because what we don't think about is, we would actually be better off staying home, recovering from the flu or whatever illness you're struggling with. And because that ticket was non-refundable, we can't get our money back.

Sunk cost and your brain

So why do we hang onto commitments or things that we don't want to stick out? Cognitive psychologists call this sunk-cost, because the cost is gone and yet we are so loss-averse as humans that we can't help but think about, try to strategize about ways to kind of make it all better. The way you can use this to make your brain commit is actually to make things be a sunk cost.

Sunk costs hold you accountable

When I first started my coaching business, I could have just said, "I'm doing this thing. I have this goal," and then not tell anybody, right? And then I would've just faded away and I wouldn't have had any sunk costs because nobody was really keeping me accountable. But instead, I really invested in it and took the time to make sure that I was going to commit.

So my co-creator on this series, Amanda Crowell and I, we realized we had met each other at a conference and we were both coaching, and we decided we needed to be accountability partners. We started a mastermind group with other women so we could make sure that we had monthly check-ins and more frequent check-ins. We also made sure that we hired a coach ourselves. So hiring a coach is somebody who can really help you stay accountable, right? That's part of why we know it works and why we help others as coaches. And so hiring somebody really made a difference. It became something I was invested in, and any kind of community that you can gather around this idea and this business that you're trying to grow.

So who's your community? Who can you reach out to and ask about, "Can you help me stay accountable?"

All of these things work for really making sure that you're invested and you're committed.

And so of course, those are just a couple ideas, but Amanda and I have created a worksheet for you to download that gives you 15 ways that you can commit, convince your brain, be invested, so that you technically fall for the sunk-cost fallacy. We're going to use it to our advantage this time.

But remember, if you do this, then you're going to be invested and you're going to be committed. So make sure it's something that you really want to do!

How to Avoid, "But I Put So Much Time Into That."

Does this sentence sound familiar?

"I can't quit doing this. I already put so much time/resources/money into it."

We have all said it about something at some point our lives. Sometimes, it is a really positive way to keep our momentum going on something we have already started. But often, it is a sentence that holds us back from taking the next steps.

I hear students and clients say sentences like:

• "I can't switch my major now because I'm already committed to this degree."

• "I already paid for that ticket, so now I have to go to the event."

• "I invested a lot into this one side hustle, so I can't give up on it and try something new."

In research, we call it the sunk cost fallacy.

Basically, it is the idea that you have to keep going because of all the time/resources/money you've already spent. We're very "loss averse" as humans. We hate to lose things or abandon projects, even when they aren't working. Behavioral economists and cognitive psychologists have conducted really insightful research about this topic. An easy to read summary with references is over here on the "You are Not So Smart blog" by David McRaney. 

Even when we recognize there is a mistake in our thinking, it is hard to take the next steps.

Okay, so you get that something in your life may have sunk costs. My latest example has been a race I signed up to run. I paid for the race months ago, not anticipating I might be burnt out on running, have broken my pinky toe, and not really trained for the race. I COULD have said, "I have to go run this race because I already paid for the ticket."

But there are better questions to ask yourself to avoid the sunk cost fallacy. Instead, just a few days before the race, I told myself, "Okay. You already paid for this race, whether or not you actually go and run it. Will you still enjoy going to the race, even if you have to walk it?" The answer was yes. I still wanted to go. But I didn't force myself to go or force myself to "get my money's worth." Because remember, I had already paid for my ticket. It was a sunk cost.

Questions to Ask Yourself to Avoid the Sunk Cost Fallacy:

1. What is the "thing" that will not change, regardless of my next steps? This could be money, time, resources spent, etc. Recognize the "sunk costs."

2. What do you want to get out of your next steps? Do you want to enjoy yourself, follow your passion, make more money, or give something up because it is no longer working?

3. If you look at your answer to #2, does it change your #1? The answer should always be NO if it is a true sunk cost fallacy.

4. So since you can't change the answer to #1 - what will you do next? How will you move forward?

What's your scenario where you might be dealing with sunk costs?

Share below in the comments or send me an email and we'll help you strategize. Sometimes it is confirming your thoughts with another person that helps you move forward with your next steps!