The Sunk Cost Fallacy: How White-Knuckling the Status Quo is Keeping You in Flux.

There’s something deeply ironic about how many so-called “leaders” cling to outdated strategies like a life raft in open water, despite the fact that the buoy thing has holes in it. It’s called the sunk cost fallacy, and it’s one of the greatest threats to your growth. Not external competition, not market conditions but your refusal to let go of what’s already failing.

Disruptors don’t just move fast; they move when it makes sense. The rest? They white-knuckle the status quo because it’s all they’ve ever known. They ride a business model or a strategy into the ground because, well, they’ve already spent so much time on it. They’ve already invested so much money. They’ve already told people this was the way. So they stick, stall, and sink. And then they wonder why they’re in perpetual flux, why their growth feels like a constant fight, why they’re exhausted from trying to resuscitate something that should have been buried long ago.

The Cost of Staying Stuck

The sunk cost fallacy isn’t just about money, it's about identity. It’s about how much of your ego is wrapped up in something that’s no longer serving you. You’ve spent years building an audience, refining a message, investing in programs or strategies, and the idea of abandoning it? That feels like failure.

But here’s the truth: The real failure is staying in a cycle that’s killing your momentum.

Disruptors don’t hold onto sinking ships. They burn them to the ground and build new ones.

The Disruption Imperative

If you’re not actively disrupting, you’re waiting to be disrupted. Period.

Your audience can feel when you’re phoning it in, when you’re repeating the same tired lines, when your conviction has been replaced with obligation. And if you think they won’t outgrow you because you’re the one who taught them? Think again. Evolution is the price of relevance. If you won’t do it, they’ll find someone who will.

So, let’s talk about brass tacks. Where in your business are you refusing to pivot because you’ve already “spent too much time” on it? Where are you seeing diminishing returns but telling yourself, maybe just a little longer? Where are you tolerating mediocrity because you don’t want to face the discomfort of change?

The longer you hold onto something that isn’t working, the further away you get from the thing that will.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Here’s the part that will sting: the cost of NOT disrupting is far higher than the cost of letting go. Staying in flux is expensive. Staying stuck is crippling. And the longer you white-knuckle your old ways, the longer you delay the moment where everything clicks into place.

Disruptors aren’t reckless; they’re ruthless in their decision-making. They cut the dead weight. They move when others hesitate. They make bold calls, not because they’re fearless, but because they understand that the greatest risk is stagnation.

So, I’ll leave you with this: What are you holding onto right now that’s keeping you in flux? And what’s it costing you to stay?

When you’re ready to break free, you know where to find me.

Have you joined my 100 Days of Disruption challenge yet?? Here’s the link https://bit.ly/4gZsZiy