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How to Live a Life Without Regrets REGRET IS PRETTY COMMON 82% of Americans say they experience regret occasionally, if not more. SOME TOP SOURCES OF REGRET Career 47% of U.S. adults ages 33-40 say they wish they'd chosen a different career path. 98% of people have career regrets, with the most common sources being: ● Not taking more initiative ● Lacking mentorship or guidance ● Playing it too safe at work ● Not maintaining their network Education 66% of people with at least a bachelor’s degree regret something about their education: ● 27% primarily regret taking out student loans ● 12% primarily regret their main area of study Financial The top 3 financial regrets include: 1. Not having enough money for emergencies 2. Having too little in retirement savings 3. Accumulating too much credit card debt Around 10% of people regret purchasing big-ticket items, according to one poll, with common sources of buyer’s remorse involving the purchase of: ● Gaming equipment — 45% ● Clothes, shoes, and tools — 43% ● Home gym equipment — 39% According to another survey, 75% of recent homeowners have buyer’s remorse. Personal Choices 78% of people regret at least one of their tattoos, according to one survey. What Could Have Been A series of 2022 studies suggest that when people idealize or overrate a path not taken, they may be more likely to feel regret for the choice that “got away.” THE UPSIDE OF REGRET We consider regret the most beneficial of 12 negative emotions, including anger, guilt, fear, and sadness. The Bright Side Regret helps us: ● Make sense of past experiences ● Avoid more mistakes ● Fix our missteps Regret may help us learn from our experiences so we make better decisions in the future, experts say. Opportunity Breeds Regret, and Regret Breeds Change We regret things more when we can still make a course correction to fix a mistake, advance a goal, or better a solution. Why? It's called the opportunity principle: When we have a chance to make a change for the better, we feel guilt about not doing it. When things feel out of our hands, we rationalize away regret. MAKE UP FOR MISSED OPPORTUNITIES To make peace with regret and leave it in the rearview mirror: 1. Recognize your feelings about the lost opportunity and express your emotions, perhaps by writing them down. 2. Look back on the past with gratitude rather than what the lost opportunity cost you—the more you practice what you’re grateful for, the more you’ll be aware of what you have versus what you don’t. 3. Consider your wants and your values to remind yourself what really matters in life. If you missed out on a family reunion, it could still be that you value family highly, just perhaps not the event itself. MOVING PAST REGRET To Let Go of Regret… -#1: Try to learn something from the mistake. “What did I do wrong?” -#2: Look on the bright side. “It could've been even worse!” -#3: Don’t dwell on it. “No use crying over spilled milk.” -#4: Take action. “How can I fix this?” Why You Should Right Your Wrongs Today One large study across 63 different countries found that older people reported experiencing fewer negative feelings, including regret, compared to younger people. Why? Older adults may be better able to use strategies they’ve learned over the years that help ease stress, such as opting into situations they want to be in and saying no to situations they don’t. 5 TIPS FOR LIVING A REGRET-FREE LIFE According to Bronnie Ware’s book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, you’ll be much more satisfied at the end of your life if you: 1. Live a life that feels meaningful to YOU (not one based on the expectations of others) 2. Have the courage to express your feelings 3. Simply allow yourself to be happier 4. Prioritize family time over long hours at the office 5. Stay in touch with old friends [Quote] “The only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.” — Ted Hughes, British poet laureate Source list: Advanced Dermatology. (2019) The Statistics Surrounding Tattoo Regret and How to Avoid It. Aviva. (2021) UK adults spent more than £6.6 billion on pandemic purchases they no longer use. Bankrate’s May 2021 Financial Security poll. BBC. Why it is good to feel regret. Cho, H. et al. (2021) Reflect, Not Regret: Understanding Regretful Smartphone Use with App Feature-Level Analysis. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. Liu, J. (2021) Almost half of older millennials wish they’d chosen a different career path—what they’d do differently. CNBC Make It. Cohen-Mansfield, J. & Brill, S. (2020) Regrets of family caregivers in Israel about the end of life of deceased relatives. Aging & Mental Health. Experian Boost/OnePoll. (2021) “The Real World” survey. Feiler, D. & Müller-Trede, J. (2022) The One That Got Away: Overestimation of Forgone Alternatives as a Hidden Source of Regret. Psychological Science. Sawhney, V. (2021) It’s Time to Make Peace with Your Regrets. Harvard Business Review. Kennair, L. E. O. et al. (2021) The Function of Casual Sex Action and Inaction Regret: A Longitudinal Investigation. Evolutionary Psychology. Gruver, J. (2019) Biggest College Regrets. Payscale. Pink, D. et al. (2021) American Regret Project. Anderer, J. (2019) Hindsight is 20/20: 4 out of 10 adults regret their life choices. Study Finds. Sun, R. & Sauter, D. (2021) Sustained Stress Reduces the Age Advantages in Emotional Experience of Older Adults: Commentary on Carstensen et al. (2020). Psychological Science. Turczynski, B. (Updated 2022) Biggest Career Regrets Revealed: Learn from Others’ Mistakes. Zety. Zillow. (2022) 75% of recent home buyers have regrets about their new home.

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