Ep. 603: Avoid the Sunk-Cost Fallacy, and Why it’s Hard to Plan for Emergencies
Happier with Gretchen RubinShow Notes
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:
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Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
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