strategies when they should pivot, NBA general managers and coaches keep
investing in new contracts and more playing time for draft busts, and
politicians continue sending soldiers to wars that didn’t
need to be fought in
the first place. Sunk costs are a factor, but the most important causes appear
to be psychological rather than economic. Escalation of commitment
happens because we’re rationalizing creatures, constantly searching for self-
justifications for our prior beliefs as a way to soothe our egos, shield our
images, and validate our past decisions.
Escalation of commitment is a major factor in preventable failures.
Ironically, it can be fueled by one of the most celebrated engines of success:
grit. Grit is the combination
of passion and perseverance, and research
shows that it can play an important role in motivating us to accomplish
long-term goals. When it comes to rethinking, though, grit may have a dark
side. Experiments show that gritty people are more likely to overplay their
hands in roulette and more willing to stay the course in tasks at which
they’re failing and success is impossible. Researchers have even suggested
that gritty mountaineers are more
likely to die on expeditions, because
they’re determined to do whatever it takes to reach the summit. There’s a
fine line between heroic persistence and foolish stubbornness. Sometimes
the best kind of grit is gritting our teeth and turning around.
Ryan escalated his commitment to medical training for sixteen years. If
he had been less tenacious, he might have changed tracks sooner. Early on,
he had fallen victim to what psychologists call identity foreclosure—when
we settle prematurely on a sense of self without enough due diligence, and
close our minds to alternative selves.
In career choices, identity foreclosure often begins when adults ask
kids: what do you want to be when you grow up?
Pondering that question
can foster a fixed mindset about work and self. “I think it’s one of the most
useless questions an adult can ask a child,” Michelle Obama writes. “
What
do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at
some point you become something and that’s the end.”
*
Some kids dream too small. They foreclose on following in family
footsteps and never really consider alternatives. You probably know some
people who faced the opposite problem. They dreamed too big, becoming
attached to a lofty vision that wasn’t realistic.
Sometimes we lack the talent
to pursue our callings professionally, leaving them unanswered; other times
there’s little hope that our passions can pay the bills. “You can be anything
Although children are often fascinated
by science from a young age,
over the course of elementary school, they tend to lose interest and
confidence in their potential to be scientists. Recent studies show that it’s
possible to maintain their enthusiasm by introducing them to science
differently. When second and third graders learned about “doing science”
rather than “being scientists,” they were more excited about pursuing
science. Becoming a scientist might seem out of reach, but the act of
experimenting is something we can all try out. Even prekindergarten
students express more interest in science when it’s
presented as something
we
do rather than someone we
are.
Recently at dinner, our kids decided to go around the table to ask what
everyone wanted to be when they grew up. I told them they didn’t need to
choose one career; the average person ends up holding a dozen different
jobs. They didn’t have to be one thing; they could do many things. They
started brainstorming about all the things they love to do.
Their lists ended
up including designing Lego sets, studying space, creative writing,
architecture, interior design, teaching gymnastics, photography, coaching
soccer, and being a fitness YouTuber.
Choosing a career isn’t like finding a soul mate. It’s possible that your
ideal job hasn’t even been invented yet.
Old industries are changing, and
new industries are emerging faster than ever before: it wasn’t that long ago
that Google, Uber, and Instagram didn’t exist. Your future self doesn’t exist
right now, either, and your interests might change over time.
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