There is a proverb about quitting, called the Law of Holes, that has its own Wikipedia page. During the 1980s in the United Kingdom it was used by the politician Denis Healey. The law is that (as shown above):
“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”
That really was just the First Law of Holes. (But why is then implied rather than explicitly stated?) I looked around further and found that there are another five Laws of Holes.
As shown above, the Second Law of Holes is to:
“Remember that you are still in a hole”
And, the Third Law of Holes is to:
“Get help to bring a ladder so you can climb out.”
The Fourth Law of Holes is that:
“If you can’t get help, cut steps and climb out yourself.”
The preventive Fifth Law of Holes is to:
"Fill in the hole, so no one else can fall into it.”
Finally, the Sixth Law of Holes is:
“If you can’t fill the hole, put warning signs around it.
There is a 2026 book by Lindsay Krouse titled The Case for Quitting: The surprising benefits of opting out. Her Chapter 9 is titled The Law of Holes. On page 148 she says that:
“Escalation of commitment can quickly lead us to collide head-on with what an economist once described to me as ‘the law of holes,’ which sounds obvious by often ignored: ‘If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.’ “
And on page 161 she continues:
“Quitting was the first step. Then she discovered the second Law of Holes (‘Remember, you are still in a hole.’).”
There is an article by Paul Synnott at LinkedIn Pulse on November 24, 2022 titled Don’t Always Rely on the Ladder! He says that:
“For me, there are only three ways out of this situation.
The first is to recognise that you are in over your head, put down the shovel and holler in the hope that someone might hear you and come to your rescue.
The second is to accept the hand of the person who has realised that you might be in a spot of bother, and has, of their own volition, reached down to pull you out.
And in the absence of the first two, the third is to use the ladder; you know, the one that we all pack away as a last resort, in readiness for a quick escape for when we do end up digging that hole just a little too deep.”
Another article by Sun Shine (at Medium) on June 23, 2017 is titled Investing and the five laws of holes. He says:
“The First Law of Holes (this is the only stated law of holes) – if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging…
The Second Law of Holes – If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging, come out of it, and then fill it in to keep it from becoming a hazard…
The Third Law of Holes – If you don’t know that you are in a hole, ask someone who isn’t covered with mud and standing in the shade…
The Fourth Law of Holes – If someone else, and especially when that someone appears smart and has been successful in the recent past, seems to be digging a hole, don’t try to jump in to give him company…
The Fifth Law of Holes – Trust your logic – ‘I must get out of the hole before I fall deeper’ – more than your ego – ‘How could I have been so blind to have gotten into this hole?’ ”
How old is the sentiment behind the First Law of Holes? There is an article by Garson O’Toole at the Linguist list on October 19, 2004 titled Proverb: When you’re in a hole, stop digging – On the dangers of digging (Joel Chandler Harris 1889). Joel Chandler Harris told the Uncle Remus stories about the trickster Br’er Rabbit.
My cartoons used modified images from OpenClipArt of a standing man, digging, and a ladder.
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