If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let ‘em go, because man, they’re gone.

Jack Handey, SNL

Creativity and change aren’t just about embracing something new. They also require us to let go of what’s familiar. 

This can be hard. 

First, familiarity can be comforting. We may like a routine we repeat or a tool we often use. When we have the opportunity to try something new, we resist because we are comfortable with what we already have. 

But there’s another reason we resist. 

Sunk cost.

After we have invested time, money, effort, and even part of our identity into something, it is painful to let go of it. Problem is, if we don’t let go, we can’t grab onto something new. 

We can continue to focus on the sunk cost of what we’ve invested in, or we can change our perspective. We can see it as a gift.

When a gift is offered, we have a choice to receive it. Our past choices are gifts from our past selves. It’s up to “present day me” and “present day you” to decide whether we accept those gifts. 

If we don’t want the gift, forget the sunk cost.

You dropped those keys in lava. Let ‘em go, because man, they’re gone