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‘No Regrets’ Is No Way to Live
Article

‘No Regrets’ Is No Way to Live

Daniel H. Pink
The Wall Street Journal, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Scientific
  • Applicable
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

Most people don’t want to experience regret – yet it’s impossible to go through life without regretting something from time to time. Best-selling author Daniel H. Pink – who likes to turn conventional wisdom on its head – argues that, rather than being an unpleasant feeling that holds you back, regret can serve as a powerful catalyst for improving your life and that of others. In this Wall Street Journal article based on his latest book, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward, Pink shares three tools for processing regret, so you can benefit from it.

Summary

Feelings of regret are not just a fact of life, but a powerful catalyst for self-improvement.

Feeling regret is painful. What’s more, individuals tend to view regret as futile – as something preventing them from looking forward. People as varied as Christian conservative Rev. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and liberal US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg publicly endorsed a “no regrets” maxim. Yet decades of scientific research suggest that banishing regret from your life is not just futile, but also, unhelpful.

Intrigued by these findings, author Daniel H. Pink conducted a survey of 16,000 individuals in 105 countries and came to the same conclusion: Feeling regret is...

About the Author

Daniel H. Pink is the author of seven books, including the bestsellers Drive and When.

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