If you ever read about economics, you’ll no doubt have heard about the sunk cost fallacy. The thing to remember is that this isn’t a general rule. In fact, nobody says it better than The Gambler, as sung by Kenny Rogers: You got to know when to hold them, and when to fold them. Know when to walk away, and when to run…

The long and short of it is that you need to look toward the future. For instance, with my job, I could see that I was working insanely long hours and never being given credit for all my hard work, with the final spoils of the assessments going to junior coders to my detriment. I don’t have any animosity, mind you, even if I feel most cheated about them never moving the office to Reston Town Center, as promised, after a fifteen months of working there. I’m very proud of the work I did and my contributions. And I have no regrets when it came to a head of me needing a vacation and them not granting it, so me happily signing my resignation.

Or, consider my 25 year relationship with my ex. I still consider her my friend and don’t regret the time we had together but the sunk costs were piling up with no sense of return to come in the future and I knew it was time to get out when she tried to lock me in a room. As a single man, I can very easily forgive and forget and know my worth is more than that and be willing and able to move on, with no intention of ever being more than friends because those memories will never fade, they just don’t hurt as much as they used to.

But, there are many reasons to persist. I’ll never be able to pick locks if I give up before I’ve mastered the skill. I need more than 12 flight hours to become a pilot as well. These aren’t sunk costs because they have a definite goal and a path to get there. The cost only becomes sunk when you only see more of the same ahead and no hope for anything different or to change.

So, whatever your burdens are, just take a minute from time to time to reassess. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel, then consider persisting, but never continue throw time or money after a lost cause. And that’s my best advice.