Sunk Cost vs. Fresh Start

Good morning, principal, teachers and students.

Let me ask you something. Have any of you ever played a mobile game where you spent real money to get a rare character or item? And after getting it, you realized… it’s actually not that good. But you kept using it anyway, or kept spending more money trying to get something better, just because you already spent so much?

Or have you ever spent hours playing in a game, reached a certain level, and then a new update came out and made your character weaker? You felt so annoyed, thinking that you had already spent so much time on this — and so you kept playing the same way, even though it was not fun anymore.

In accounting and economics, this is called a “sunk cost.” A sunk cost is money, time, or effort that is already spent — and it can never come back. No matter how much you think about it, or feel upset about it, that time or money is gone forever.

Here is the important lesson: rational people do not let sunk costs control their future choices. If the game is not fun anymore, the better way is to stop playing it — not because you are “wasting” what you already spent, but because continuing wastes even more of your time and money.

So, how is it related to us?

Because many of us carry “sunk costs” from the past. Maybe you did not do well in an exam. Maybe you argued with a friend and it never got fixed. Maybe you promised yourself you would study harder or manage your time better — and you didn’t. Maybe you feel bad about time that felt “wasted.”

Here’s the truth: that time is gone. You cannot get it back, no matter how much you regret it. But regret and worry about the past will not help you move forward. What matters now is not what happened in the past. What matters is what you do with today.

This is where gratitude comes in. Instead of feeling stuck thinking about what went wrong, we can choose to feel thankful for something wonderful: a new school year. A fresh start. New timetables. New teachers. New chances to try again — like starting a new game save, with everything reset and open ahead of you.

Right now, you have a full new year ahead — new chances to make friends, improve your grades, build better habits, try harder. None of your past mistakes can stop you from doing well starting today. The page is blank. You get to write on it.

So instead of asking, “Why did I waste so much time last year?” — try asking a better question: “What can I do today, with the fresh start I’ve been given?”

Be grateful, not for a perfect past, but for a new beginning. Be grateful you get to try again. That is a real blessing — and it’s already yours, starting right now.

Mr Lau SB