By C C Pung
Justice of Peace
My club is 59 years old and suffering some of the symptoms of the ‘sunk cost fallact’.
The sunk-cost fallacy is a cognitive bias where people continue a behavior or endeavor because of previously invested resources (time, money, effort), even when continuing is no longer the best choice. It’s the classic “we’ve come this far, we can’t stop now” trap.
🔁 How the Sunk-Cost Fallacy Interferes with Mission 1.5
1. Clinging to Underperforming Clubs
Lions often continue pouring time and energy into clubs that are inactive or toxic, simply because they’ve existed for years.
“We can’t close this club — it’s been here for 40 years!”
This is the sunk-cost fallacy in action.
✅ Mission 1.5 encourages evaluating each club based on current and future vitality, not history. Sometimes it’s healthier to close a stagnant club and launch a new one with fresh energy and purpose.
2. Resistance to New Models
Some Lions resist new types of clubs (specialty clubs, branch clubs, virtual clubs) because they’ve invested decades in the traditional model.
“We’ve always done it this way”
…is often a sunk-cost defense of outdated methods.
✅ Mission 1.5 invites innovation: to experiment, adapt, and evolve — even if it means letting go of deeply held habits.
3. Holding onto Inactive Members
Some leaders hesitate to drop members who haven’t participated in years, believing that retaining names on the roster justifies past recruiting efforts.
But this inflates numbers without impact — and robs clubs of energy and truth.
✅ Mission 1.5 pushes for active, engaged membership — quality over hollow quantity.
4. Emotional Investment in Past Leadership Styles
Sometimes, leaders who’ve served for years find it difficult to adapt to new leadership cultures focused on coaching, collaboration, and inclusion. They cling to the hierarchy they helped build.
✅ Mission 1.5 is a transformational leadership call, not transactional — and asks all of us to let go of pride and ego when it stands in the way of progress.
🎯 Final Insight
> ❝ Mission 1.5 asks us to look to the future, not to be trapped by the past. ❞
To grow beyond 1.4 million Lions and reach 1.5 million with meaning, we must:
Recognize what no longer serves.
Let go of what we only hold because we once paid a price for it.
Reinvest in what creates value today and tomorrow.
