Sunk costs, Project 333, and a confession

Gorgeous jacket - Alexander McQueen

My tweed jacket isn't working.  I bought it on sale (I should have known better!), and every time I wear it I feel... meh.  Below par.  Not on my game.  Frumpy.  I think you get the picture...

So let's all think about this for a minute... my jacket is NOT the glorious Alexander McQueen pictured above, but let's say I paid $200 for the one that I have.  That money is SPENT.  GONE.  In economic parlance, we call that a sunk cost.

There are now two possible "equations" for my life with this jacket:

(1) negative $200 spent on jacket + negative feelings wearing jacket = double negative
(2) negative $200 spent on jacket + positive feeling wearing something else = neutral outcome

Piling onto a mistaken purchase by forcing yourself to wear that item accomplishes nothing but making a bad situation worse.  If there's any possibility that you can get some money back from your purchase (consignment, Craig's List etc.), go for it.  Or just donate your problem garment so that it becomes someone else's favorite.

Effective immediately, my tweed jacket is going to be replaced by a grey argyle cardigan in my Project 333.  I give myself permission to do this under the theory that the whole point of Project 333 is to learn what works best for me...