At this time of year, many of us give and receive presents. I hope your gifting experiences were delightful.
But we don’t just give each other—and ourselves—gifts at one time during the year. We often give ourselves gifts throughout the year.
And while there are some physical things I would like to receive, I more often consider learning or experiences as gifts we give ourselves. Every time I travel to new places or meet new people, I learn something.
When Mark and I went to Norway last November, I learned a lot about the Northern Lights, the Arctic, and trolls. I also learned it’s possible for me to eat salmon three times a day and enjoy it each time.
I’ve also spent the last year learning: the craft of fiction writing, how to be more consistent at video, and a fair amount about corporate strategy that works. Not just a plan that has little value.
All of that learning is a gift to my future self. Will I use all of it? I think so—but until I write the books I want to write, I won’t know.
That’s all about the recent presents I gave myself. I’ve also discarded several of the past gifts to myself. That’s because it’s time for me to make room for new things or ideas.
Discarding Makes Room for New Presents
I have a messy office—but not by design. I’m slowly reorganizing it and cleaning it up. That’s because I realize I’m working differently now.
The more “stuff” I can discard from my old ways of working, the more easily I can make my new ways work even better for me. My old patterns were a gift to me then. And it’s time to discard not just old stuff, but old patterns.
The more I discard, the easier it is for me to create new patterns.
I’m not always good at discarding. Not because I don’t want to, but because the sunk cost fallacy clouds my thinking.
Be Aware of the Sunk Cost Fallacy
The sunk cost fallacy occurs when we realize how much money or ourselves we’ve “spent” already, doing this thing or working in a specific way. We might even realize we will incur a relatively small cost to change. (See Are Your Default Choices Costing You More Than You Think? and When Can You Rethink A Decision?)
Our past decisions gave us our current lives—a form of a present or gift. And our new decisions, even if they challenge us, might give us more presents for the future. And as long as we acknowledge the sunk cost fallacy, we can take those long-ago presents and create a new future.
Which Presents Will You Give Yourself?
Too many of my colleagues worry about the future of their jobs. While you might worry, you also have choices. You can always give yourself the gift of learning something new. Even if that learning doesn’t show some sort of immediate return, we are all the results of all of our past experiences. When we choose which of those experiences to retain as presents and which to discard, we can choose the lives we want.
That’s the question this week: Which of your past presents do you want to keep and which to discard?
(If you want to give yourself the gift of becoming a better nonfiction writer, see my Q1 2024 writing workshop.)