Ep. 603: Avoid the Sunk-Cost Fallacy, and Why it’s Hard to Plan for Emergencies

We talk about how to avoid the mental trap of the “sunk-cost fallacy.” Plus, why it’s so hard to plan for emergencies and the biases that keep us from preparing for risk. 

Episode highlights:

• Try This at Home: Avoid the sunk-cost fallacy—the mental trap that keeps us committed because of the time, money, or energy we’ve already spent [04:57]
• Happiness Hack: Create a personal reading syllabus with deadlines to help you read more [12:58]
• Happiness Stumbling Block: Six common biases that make it difficult to assess and prepare for rare but serious emergencies [16:03]
• Demerits and Gold Stars: Gretchen’s Demerit: Turning into a Knicks bore; Elizabeth’s Gold Star: To her friend Mindy for a new exercise experience [24:11]

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Ostrich Paradox: Why We Underprepare for Disasters by Robert Meyer and Howard Kunreuther (Amazon, Bookshop)
• This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis and Clark by Craig Fehrman (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Audition by Katie Kitamura (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Rolling utility cart
• Happier Labor Day resources

Connect with Us:

• Email: [email protected]

• Website: gretchenrubin.com

• Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

• Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

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Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

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