Hey, it's Stephen Dubner. We are about to play you one of our most popular episodes of all time.

We heard from a lot of listeners who told us that this episode inspired them to quit something

and inspired us to write a chapter about quitting in our new book Think Like A Freak. So we now

present to you the upside of quitting. I'd like you to stop whatever you're doing right now.

No, no, no, no, I don't mean like stop so you can give your full attention to this radio show.

I mean, honestly, radio is the perfect medium for multitasking. Let's maybe use a chainsaw or something.

What I mean is stop whatever you're doing. As in doing with your life.

Maybe it's your job. Maybe it's a relationship that's curdled. Maybe there's some dream project

you've been working on so long you can't remember what got you all heated up about in the first place.

I want to encourage you to just quit. At least think about quitting. Why? Well, because everybody else

is always saying the opposite. Nothing is over until we decided this. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Sherman? For Gaddities Roller. It's become so ingrained we don't even think about it anymore.

You know, a glitter never wins and a winner never quits. I think when I hear people say that, I think,

are you sure?

From WNYC, this is Freakinomics Radio, the podcast that explores the hidden side of everything.

Today, the upside of quitting. Here's your host, Steven Dubner.

So I hang out with a lot of economists. Yeah, I know you're envious, but there are two things they love to talk about

that will help us understand quitting. One is called sunk costs and the other is opportunity costs.

Sunk cost is about the past. It's the time or money or sweat equity that you've put into something which makes it hard to abandon.

Opportunity cost is about the future. It means that for every hour or a dollar you spend on one thing,

you're giving up the opportunity to spend that hour or dollar on something else. Something that might make your life better.

If only you weren't so worried about the sunk cost. If only you could quit.

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