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Am I continuing because of sunk cost?

A project you have invested a lot in and keep not cancelling.

Longsunk-costbiasdecisions
Check whether I am continuing this only because of what I have already spent.

1. Ask me the clean version of the question: if I were starting today, with no history and no investment made, would I begin this? Answer it on my behalf from what I tell you, then say how confident you are.
2. Separate the arguments for continuing into forward-looking ones (future value) and backward-looking ones (effort already spent, commitments made, how it would look). Only the first kind counts.
3. Which of my stated reasons are really about not wanting to admit a loss? Say it directly.
4. What would stopping actually cost, as opposed to what it feels like it would cost?
5. Give me a recommendation: continue, stop, or change shape. Pick one.

The project, what I have invested, and why I am hesitating:

Making it yours

  • Paste your own material where the prompt asks for it. Everything above that line is instruction, not content.
  • Delete any rule that does not apply to you. A shorter prompt that fits beats a thorough one that does not.
  • If the answer comes back vague, add a line saying what you do not want. Constraints work better than encouragement.

Assumptions and reasoning. Digging out what you are taking for granted, including the sunk cost you keep not naming.

Related prompts

Invert the problemStuck on how to succeed at something, when it is easier to see how to fail.Rebuild this from first principlesWhen the reason for doing it this way is "that is how it is done".Surface my hidden assumptionsWhen the reasoning feels solid, which is usually when an assumption is buried in it.What would I need to believe?A choice that only makes sense under certain assumptions.What am I assuming?Any plan that feels obviously right to you.What would I tell a friend?Stuck on something you would see clearly from outside.

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