Sunk Cost Fallacy -- Time Invested Is Not a Reason to Stay

"But we've been together for seven years" is not a reason to stay in a bad relationship. Those years are spent whether you stay or go. The sunk cost fallacy tricks you into pouring more time into something that isn't working because you can't bear the idea of the previous investment being "wasted." But staying in the wrong place doesn't honor the past -- it sacrifices the future. The only question that matters is: what do you do with the years ahead?