Cognitive biases
Effort vs. Value Assessment to Counter the IKEA Effect
Client overvalues projects, relationships, or endeavors simply because they have invested effort, and cannot assess whether continued investment is wise.
The IKEA effect is the cognitive bias that makes us overvalue things we have put effort into making, even if the result is mediocre. We apply this to relationships (staying in a bad one because we have worked so hard), careers (grinding at a job that does not suit us), and projects (finishing something that is no longer worth finishing). Effort is sunk cost. It should not drive future decisions.
This directive helps the client separate past effort from present value.
Effort vs. Value Assessment to Counter the IKEA Effect
Identify a project, relationship, or role you have been investing in. Write the name.
How much effort have you put in? (Years. Thousands of dollars. Hours each week. Emotional labor.)
What has the effort produced? (Describe it without justifying.)
If this were new to you today, would you choose it? Yes or no. Do not explain. Just answer.
If the answer is no, ask: what is keeping me in it? (Sunk cost. Guilt. The idea that it should work because I have tried so hard. Fear of failure. The story that I am not a quitter.)
If the answer is yes, ask: am I staying because it actually serves me, or because the effort I have already spent is in my way of seeing clearly?
The question is not whether you should have invested in it in the first place. That is done. The question is: right now, is this worth your time and energy? If not, you do not owe it your future because you gave it your past.
Write down your honest answer. You do not have to act on it yet. Just see it clearly. We will talk about what happens next.
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