Over in the Association for the past month we have been discussing our goals for the new year. We use a specific measurement to evaluate whether our goals are worth pursuing using the acrostic SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.
Using this rubric to evaluate your current goals for your art business is an important first step to actually achieving them. If your goals are unrealistic, outdated, no longer sync with who you are and what you want, are too abstract or can’t be measured, or are WAY too advanced for where you currently are in your business…. it’s time to let go. But letting go of your goals can be a lot easier said than done.
The Sunk Costs Fallacy
Sunk costs are costs, be they effort, time, or actual money, that have already been paid. They’ve been sunk- you can’t get them back. As such, they have no legitimate bearing on the present, especially compared to what you really should be considering, which is how your actions will benefit and cost you in the future. This can be a hard concept to wrap your mind around, and it’s what gives the sunk costs fallacy such a powerful grip on our minds.
The sunk costs fallacy tricks us into thinking that we have to stick with a project in which we are no longer invested, simply because we spent so much time/effort/expense on it already. If you have spent time and money pursuing a goal for your art business that no longer feels right, or that upon further evaluation you realize really isn’t realistic or viable at the moment, it’s okay to let go. Consider this your permission. In fact, not letting go is probably going to hurt you even more than letting go of those sunk costs, painful as they may be.
Take the time to consider your goals for the year- where do you want to be three months from now? 6 months? A year? Apply the SMART rubric to your goals, run them by some people that you trust, and enjoy the freedom of letting go of the other stuff that’s weighing you down.
If you need somebody to help you evaluate your goals, you’ll find an incredible group of hard-working and insightful professionals in The Abundant Artist Association. Enrollment will be re-opening soon, so get on the wait list now so you don’t miss it!
For more on realistic goal-setting and the sunk costs fallacy, give our interview with Growing Gills author and prolific comic artist Jessica Abel a listen. It’s a good one!
Truly a serious thought. The flip side is have you invested enough of yourself in the goal to actually evaluate it without bias. Personally, not letting go of current goals until every superhuman effort has been made, and every stone turned looking for gold. It really takes time, usually longer than we plan for it to take.
I learned this the hard way. I was debating letting go of a goal that involved a pricey plug-in on my website. I delayed renewing the plug-in while debating the decision. In the meantime, my website got infected with malware because I didn’t have their security update. Major hassle! Thankfully all is well now. I have let go of the on-line courses, and truly feel good about this decision.