Winning a game you never wanted to play is still a loss, just with a trophy attached.

Success in the wrong direction is expensive in a way that failure is not, because it costs the same years and then removes your excuse for changing course. The trophy makes it harder, not easier: everyone congratulates you, and saying you do not want this now sounds ungrateful. That combination keeps people in place for decades.

Check the direction while the stakes are still small. Ask whether you would want the prize if nobody knew you had it. If the answer is no, the cheapest moment to turn is always the current one.