Sunk Costs (page 2)

wobble

Great post Zarco !

It is similar to the mentality of the gambler who has sunk a lot into a "system" so he must stick with it until he wins again,, or the investor who sticks with his shares when they have gone down, because he has "lost" so much and they must recover.

Neither has any logic behind it, and regardless of what you have sunk into the WT con. trick, why stick with it ?

If your family are silly enough to remain in, then just fade, and live your life, and let them live theirs, don't throw awayany more years.

Love

Wobble

cantleave

Zarco, I totally agree. I would probably take the sunk into account if it wasn't for my desire to make sure my kids aren't trapped in the cult. I know so many who have invested too much in the org to leave. They kid themselves that it is still the truth, but dig a little deeper and the doubts surface. They won't do anything though, you describe th esituation so well.

goldensky

Dear Zarco, you are making me think today... Ha, ha! No, nothing big happened that shook me up. I was digging inside myself just now to discover why I found it so easy to take the big jump and, as I read on further comments on your thread, Cantleave helped me find the answer: my kids. I wanted them to be free as fast as possible.

looking4peace

Sunk costs can indeed be tough to swallow, but if one stays in after realizing the costs, aren't they guaranteeing nothing but their entire future is tied up in sunk costs? Whereas in economics and gambling, there is a chance, no matter how small, that there might be a return if conditions change, is there ANY evidence to suggest there is anything but sunk costs in a future tied up in the WTS? For me, the decision is "no." Still, I wish the best to each one and the decision they must live with in their own circumstance. Thanks for some interesting food for thought Zarco. :o)

L4P

zarco

L4P - if a Witness believes that there is no prospective value in staying a Witness and yet stays, then yes that would be a strange decision based on only sunk costs. However, most, if not all, place different future values on staying or leaving based on their own individual circumstances. If the view is forward looking only, then generally one is making a sound decision (for them). For instance, if one decides to stay because their father or mother is a Witness then we can understand the decision. Another may look at their children and make a forward looking decision to leave so that their children are not influenced by the teachings of the Witnesses, an understandable decision (in my view a courageous one as well). It is when one says, "I have done this too long to leave or I am staying because if I leave now it means that what I taught my bible students for years was a lie" that the trouble with sunk costs comes up, because forward looking decisions are being made based on what was invested or sunk costs.

z

moshe

I had a girlfriend who was not the right person for me and I broke up with her several times, but she kept coming back and she knew how to worm her way back into my life. I see now that she looked at 3 years worth of time she had invested in me as "sunk costs" and just couldn't turn loose of them and start over looking for a new Mr Right. Well she finally did get the point and found a new guy to marry right away. JW's are pretty fearful about starting over, too- but they can do it.

ziddina

Zarco - "we can co-author a thread on the terror tactics of the JWs. If we co-authored then we each would only be half-lazy."

Sounds good to me... I'll get started on research - which in my case will initially consist of searching this site for info/articles/personal experiences relating to the topics of fear, control, intimidation...

Zid

Sunk Costs