I watched one of my children working on a crossword puzzle, carefully writing using lowercase letters.

“Is that a lowercase ‘L’ or a capital ‘i’?” I asked.

“Errrr. I’m not sure.”

“Maybe you should use uppercase letters?”

“Ugh. But then I’d have to fix all the letters I’ve already written!”

* * *

This happens so often. We see a problem in the system, but in order to correct it, we’d have to correct other things too. We’re ultimately stuck by the sunk cost of our previous efforts.

So the easiest thing to do is to just keep doing things the way we’ve been doing them. Even if it’s problematic. Even if there’s a better way.

The hangup is that while some problems go away over time, others grow and cause more problems. Either way, maintaining the status quo is not an infinitely sustainable strategy.

It might take a mix of humility, grit, and bravery to change our processes for the better. Sometimes, it’s also going to take fixing work we’ve already done.