The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward

by Daniel H. Pink

All regrets aggravate. Productive regrets aggravate, then activate.

When feeling is for thinking, and thinking is for doing, regret is for making us better.

Looking backward can move us forward, but only if we do it right. The sequence of self-disclosure, self-compassion, and self-distancing offers a simple yet systematic way to transform regret into a powerful force for stability, achievement, and purpose.

Our everyday lives consist of hundreds of decisions—some of them crucial to our well-being, many of them inconsequential. Understanding the difference can make all the difference. If we know what we truly regret, we know what we truly value. Regret—that maddening, perplexing, and undeniably real emotion—points the way to a life well lived.