I think it's from Navil Ravikrant that I heard, sometimes, when you're on the journey to a mountain top, you can realize somewhere along the way that you've taken the wrong path and then deciding to go back down and start again from a correct path is something many struggle with, especially with artists, in general.
In more simple terms, this could be interpreted as taking some steps backwards to take better steps forward. Besides, if we continue taking those steps forward, we may realize that the ceiling we can reach is limited.
Field Notes
A concrete example is moving from a primarily 9 to 5 job to being a self-employed individual.
When someone leaves a stable 9 to 5 job for self-employment, they experience what feels like "steps backward" in several areas:
Income: Initially, there's typically a significant drop in steady income. A reliable paycheck turns into variable earnings, and there might be months with little to no income while building the business or whatever venture this may be.
Definitely feels like moving backwards, but the silver lining is its necessary to create the foundation for potentially higher future earnings.
Skills: A person need to temporarily "demote" themselves in terms of their core professional work to learn new crucial skills. A talented software developer now spends less time coding to learn marketing, sales, and business operations. Becoming more of a generalist and less of a specialist.
Status and Security: There's often a perceived loss of professional status. Once a senior manager, now a "solo entrepreneur" working from a home office. They lose the prestige of a corporate title and the security of benefits like health insurance and paid vacation.
Subjective Impression
The "wrong mountain" in this case is corporate advancement. Of course, it's a subjective impression, as corporate advancement may suit certain individuals who thrive in structured environments and value predictable growth.
You could think of it like a video game where you've leveled up significantly on one path (corporate career) but realize you need different skills and attributes to achieve your ultimate goals. Starting over with a different character class will set you back initially, but ultimately allows you to progress much further in the game.
In practical terms, the real battle is in mustering up the courage to initiate the process of changing paths.
Our natural instinct is to keep pushing forward on our current path, even when we recognize it's no longer suits us.
The fear of starting over also has to do with identity. After years in a corporate role, our professional identity becomes intertwined with our titles and responsibilities.
Stepping away means reconstructing not just our career, but our sense of self. From psychological pov, it proves more more challenging than the financial or practical obstacles encountered along the way.
In my view, nothing is more deceptive about the sunk cost fallacy than the comfort it provides in maintaining the status quo.
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