There’s this thing that happens to all of us, and we barely notice it. It’s called continuation bias, the habit of keeping something going just because we already started.

I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. Grinding through projects that stopped exciting me months ago. Convincing myself I just needed more discipline, when really, I needed to ask if it still made sense at all.

I wasn’t creating because I believed in it anymore. I was just… moving through motions.

My calendar was full, my task list was long, but real progress was missing.

It’s not just me. I see it everywhere:

• Teams pouring energy into projects everyone knows aren’t working

• Founders funding ideas the market clearly doesn’t want

• People staying in jobs they outgrew years ago

It’s not always about ego. Sometimes it’s momentum. We told ourselves we’d finish, so we keep going, even when it no longer fits.

But that same determination that gets us through hard times can quietly trap us too.

Here’s what I watch for now:

1. The work feels like dragging a weight uphill. You’re forcing focus instead of finding flow.

2. You spend more time defending the plan than improving it.

3. If you were starting fresh today, you wouldn’t choose this, but you keep doing it because you already began.

Real discipline isn’t finishing everything you start.

It’s knowing when something no longer deserves your time.

Before I move forward now, I pause and ask:

“If this landed on my desk today, knowing what I know now, would I still say yes?”

Sometimes the smartest move isn’t to do more.

It’s to stop doing what’s holding you back.

#leadership #decisionmaking #productivity #psychology #FireInTheCircuit