there is a simple and effective way to be sure you are making the best decisions when things go awry: focus on what you have to gain, rather than what you have to lose.

Focus on what's available in the future, rather than what you've given up to get here.

on a rugged 5-month walkabout, i lugged around 5 yards of fabric in my backpack, weighing about 5 pounds, because after lugging it around for the first month i couldn't justify letting it go.  where is it now? in a box of unused fabric labeled "projects."  i should have cut my losses after the first realization that it was more work than it was worth, which was within the first couple days of buying it!

and that's just a 5-pound example...

That's a really good example. And a good metaphor for the things we can't let go of but should. 

You could make an article out of that story.