my biggest regret in life essay

Essay on Biggest Regret In Life

Students are often asked to write an essay on Biggest Regret In Life in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Biggest Regret In Life

Understanding regret.

Regret is a sad feeling we get when we think we made a wrong choice. It’s like wishing we could go back in time and do things differently. The biggest regret in life can vary from person to person.

Examples of Regret

For some, the biggest regret could be not studying hard in school. They might wish they had tried harder to get better grades. Others may regret not saying ‘I love you’ to someone special. These regrets can make us feel sad, but they also teach us valuable lessons.

Learning from Regret

Regret can be painful, but it can also help us grow. It teaches us to make better choices in the future. So, instead of feeling sad about our regrets, we should try to learn from them.

Living Without Regret

The best way to live without regret is to make good choices. Think about what you want, and work hard to achieve it. This way, you won’t have any regrets in the future. Remember, it’s your life, and only you can make it regret-free.

250 Words Essay on Biggest Regret In Life

The biggest regret in life.

The biggest regret in life varies from person to person. For some, it could be a missed chance to study at a dream school. For others, it might be a lost opportunity to say the right words at the right time. This regret often leaves a lasting impact on our lives, shaping our future decisions and actions.

Living with Regret

Living with regret can be tough. It can make us feel stuck in the past and prevent us from moving forward. It’s like carrying a heavy bag that slows us down. It can also affect our self-esteem and make us doubt our abilities.

Despite the pain, regret can also be a good teacher. It can help us learn from our mistakes and make better choices in the future. It can guide us to avoid the same pitfalls and help us grow as individuals.

Overcoming Regret

Overcoming regret is all about accepting the past and learning to let go. It’s important to remember that everyone makes mistakes and it’s okay. The key is to not let regret stop us from enjoying the present or fearing the future. Instead, use it as a stepping stone to become better and stronger.

In conclusion, the biggest regret in life can be a painful experience, but it can also be a valuable lesson. It’s all about how we choose to handle it.

500 Words Essay on Biggest Regret In Life

What is regret, understanding life’s biggest regret.

The biggest regret in life can be different for everyone. It can be a missed chance, a wrong choice, or even not saying something when it was important. It’s a heavy feeling that stays with us, reminding us of a path not taken or a choice not made.

The Impact of Regret

Regret can have a strong impact on our lives. It can make us feel sad and stuck. We may keep thinking about the ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’, which can stop us from enjoying the present. It can also lead to feelings of guilt and sadness.

Letting Go of Regret

Letting go of regret is not always easy, but it’s very important. We need to accept that we can’t change the past. What’s done is done. We should focus on the present and the future. We should remember that everyone makes mistakes and it’s okay. What’s more important is to learn from them and move on.

In the end, the biggest regret in life is a very personal thing. It can be different for everyone. But no matter what it is, it’s important to remember that we can learn from it and let it go. Life is full of ups and downs, and it’s okay to make mistakes. After all, that’s how we learn and grow.

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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My biggest regret in life: going to college.

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Just about everywhere you go, people tell you “Go to college! Get a degree! Don’t quit! It’s worth it!”

Don’t listen to them! It’s not worth it. At least it wasn’t for me.

I wasted five years of my life going to college, and it’s my biggest regret in life. For me, college was a waste of time, a waste of energy, a waste of money, and a waste of potential.

If I hadn’t gone to college, I would be farther along in my entrepreneurial journey. I would have more businesses, more experiences, and more opportunities to make the world a better place.

Now before you change your life plans and rip up your college application, please understand this. College is good for some people. If you’re training to become a physician or a lawyer, attending college is an essential requirement. Please go to college.

But it’s a different story for entrepreneurs! Ever since I was a kid, my goal has been to be an entrepreneur. College is not requirement for my career ambitions, and I wish I hadn’t gone.

If you are an entrepreneur or want to be an entrepreneur, I wrote this story for you. This is my personal experience. Your situation in life might be different. For what it’s worth, my story may help you to think about college from a different angle, and help you reach your entrepreneurial goals faster.

Here is why I regret going to college.

College did not teach me critical thinking.

I believe that an entrepreneur's greatest asset is critical thinking.

If you possess the skill of critical thinking, you can solve any problem, build any business, and change the world.

I went into college expecting to sharpen my critical thinking skills. All my life, my parents had pushed the idea of critical thinking and taught me critical thinking skills.

I had a mistaken notion that I would learn more critical thinking skills in college.

Man, was I disappointed. Instead, college consisted of classes where I was told to obey the rules, follow the instructions, memorize this information, and regurgitate it on a test. Do that, and you’ll be fine.

That kind of approach destroys critical thinking.

Fundamentally, entrepreneurs do not follow instructions. Instead they take risks, devise creative solutions, think outside the box, and choose what rules to break. In other words, they think critically .

What college didn’t teach me, I had to learn on my own.

I understand that It’s difficult to tell someone how to think critically. Maybe college wasn’t designed to do that. Maybe some colleges are good at this, and I just lucked out. Here’s the process I came up with for teaching myself critical thinking:

When I face a difficult problem in business, life, or whatever, I think to myself, there is a solution.
I write down 5-10 possible solutions, no matter how crazy they might seem..
I try out 1-3 of the best ideas.
After I’ve tried a few, I write another 5-10 solutions. The crazier, the better.
I try 1-3 of best ideas from this list.
Gradually, I get closer to solving the problem.

Here’s why this works. Shaking your mind with crazy ideas can lead you closer to the one or two right ideas that could solve your problem.

Critical thinking is all about an insane level of determination, scary amounts of creativity, and a persistent drive to solve the problem.

Eventually, you’ll get closer to a solution, and achieve a breakthrough.

College, for me, was detrimental to my critical thinking skills. The system drilled into me a method of thinking that went against critical thinking.

My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to avoid college if at all possible, and develop your critical thinking skills as much as possible.

The things I learned were useless.

Didn’t I learn stuff in college?

Sure, a little bit. But the things I learned were useless.

I started a marketing consulting agency in high school. It seemed logical to major in marketing when I got to college. I expected to gain more marketing knowledge that would advance my business.

Unfortunately, 70 percent of the things my professors taught, I already knew. The other 30 percent was either wrong or outdated.

I took a computer science class, which was mostly a computer lab. I expected to get some programming skills, but instead, we learned very basic computer skills and how to write a research paper in Microsoft Word!

My professors probably thought I was a bit of an arrogant prick. In English class, I corrected my teacher’s equation (not sure why she was trying to do math in the first place). She got mad at me, and threw me out of the classroom!

By this point, I was researching search engine algorithms. My professors didn’t even know what search algorithms were, let alone the basic tactics of digital marketing.

And heck I am not saying I am smarter than my professors, but there is so much more information online than what’s in a text book.

If you think you’ll learn everything you need to know in college, be warned (and prepare to be disappointed.) You’ll learn, but you might not learn what you need in order to succeed as an entrepreneur.

The way I learned was ineffective.

The learning process at college went like this:

Learn the information in this book.
Repeat that information in a multiple choice test in two weeks.

That was it.

I took a few classes that had some group projects, speeches, and papers. But for the most part, the learning model was one of: 1) Memorize. 2) Repeat.

My learning style (and I expect the learning style of others) isn’t memorize/repeat, but rather experience and do .

I learned more in the three months that I was starting a marketing agency than I did during my entire five years of college.

I spent a lot of money during high school buying books and online courses, reading them as fast as I could, and implementing the knowledge that I learned. Are books a good source of information? Absolutely, but only if you use that information, which I was able to do while launching my business.

In college, unfortunately, the teaching methodology was not compatible with my style, and proved to be ineffective for real change.

I missed a lot of opportunities by going to college.

Have you heard this quote by Mark Twain?

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

I spent five years going to college. Originally, I planned to finish in three and a half years, but I chose to spend more time on my businesses than in my classes.

By the time I was 16 years old, I was running a successful marketing agency. My business was generating $20,000 per month, and required a lot of time.

College was draining my time (21 hours per week) and costing me ($7,000/year).

When I think through it logically, it doesn’t make sense:

I was spending 21 hours a week in college and not learning anything useful.
I was spending $7,000 a year on college, and not getting any form of ROI from my expenditure.
I was spending 50 hours a week on my business, and gaining tons of practical knowledge.
I was earning $20,000 a month from my business.

If I hadn’t gone to college…

I would have had 21 more hours to work on my business.
Those additional hours would allow me to learn $8,400 more per week, or $33,600 more per month!
Over the course of five years, this added up to $2,016,000 in lost revenue.
Combined with the $8,000 annual college tuition cost, my total losses were $2.05 million!
I would have had at least $8,000 more to invest in my business per year, which could have caused my business to grow faster.

It’s hard to quantify the losses I got hit with during the 5 years of going to college. A $2.05 million potential loss alone is huge. But five years lost is even bigger!

What could I have done with my business during those five wasted years?

I could have gone to more conferences.
I could have met more influential people.
I could have had more networking opportunities.
I could have taken more client calls.
I could have read more books and implemented more of the information in them.
I could have started more businesses.

The lost possibilities are endless!

My college years were my prime years. My mind was sharp. My body was strong. My skills were developing. My creative juices were flowing. I had the energy to stay up all night solving a problem. I felt invincible!

And most importantly, I was hungry. When you are first starting off and you don’t much to lose, you do whatever it takes to succeed. When you are 10 plus years in your career, you may still work long hours, but you’ll lose the hunger and naturally you’ll slow down… just like a professional athlete in their 30s.

If I had poured all that energy and stamina into my business rather than into a flimsy degree, I would be so much further ahead than I am right now.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m incredibly thankful for the success I’ve experienced. And I appreciate the patience and intelligence of my professors. But for me, college was a net loss.

What is college good for?

Like I mentioned above, if your goal is to become a civil engineer or a heart surgeon, please for heaven’s sake, get yourself in a good school!

College is the best way to learn about structural integrity, so your bridge doesn’t fall down. Med school is a great way to learn where the inferior vena cava is, so you don’t slice through the wrong thing.

But for others who want to start the next Microsoft or Facebook (both founded by college dropouts), maybe college is not the best path to success.

Did I get anything good out of college?

Maybe, I got some good from college. But it was indirectly.

When I figured out that college wasn’t providing me with the opportunity to improve my critical thinking skills,I started working on it myself. I solved these problems:

I hired fellow students to take notes for me and help me prepare for tests. The system that I invented grew and developed into a note ring. Select students were assigned specific classes to take notes, and other students would compile them for the group to use. (Note: It was not a cheating ring!)
I hacked the schedule of classes to batch all my classes in a block of time early in the day, two or three days per week.
I chose to go to a state-funded school, which meant that the system couldn't fail more than 50% of the student body. Since I guessed that I could do better than 50% of the student body, I knew that I wouldn’t flunk out, even if I coasted.
I investigated which professors and classes were the easiest. These classes hardly required any study or lab hours, and therefore, gave me more time to work on my business.
I devised a parking plan. Since it was a commuter school, finding a decent parking spot was impossible. I figured out a way to give students rides from class to their cars, and then I swap parking spots with the student.
I helped other students optimize their life by teaching them schedule hacking, helping them save time throughout the week.

If you learn just one thing in life, let it be critical thinking.

If you find a college that teaches critical thinking, go to it.

In my experience, however, colleges don’t do a good job at critical thinking. I have some really smart friends — people who went to Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. Did they learn critical thinking in college? Nope.

When you’re smack dab in the middle of a thorny problem, what’s going to help you out? Your college degree? What you learned in accounting? A factoid from Economics 101? A Harvard education?

No. What’s going to help you solve that problem is the brute mental force of critical thinking.

Entrepreneurs need critical thinking, not book learning. Critical thinking allows you to solve problems better, execute faster, hustle harder, and achieve true success.

What you learn in college won’t make you become a better entrepreneur. Executing on what you know will transform you into a better entrepreneur .

College isn’t a shortcut to success. In fact, it may be a roadblock to your success.

College is not going to change you as a person. Nothing can do that for you. It’s up to you to make the decisions that will take you where you want to go.

If college is your path to success, then go for it and good luck

But if you want to be an entrepreneur, skip the school and go straight for execution. Hustle as hard as you can, and you’re gonna nail it.

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I asked hundreds of people about their biggest life decisions. Here’s what I learned

Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Technology Sydney

Disclosure statement

Adrian R. Camilleri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Technology Sydney provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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You make decisions all the time. Most are small. However, some are really big : they have ramifications for years or even decades. In your final moments, you might well think back on these decisions — and some you may regret.

Part of what makes big decisions so significant is how rare they are. You don’t get an opportunity to learn from your mistakes. If you want to make big decisions you won’t regret, it’s important you learn from others who have been there before.

There is a good deal of existing research into what people regret in their lives. In my current project, I decided to approach the problem from the other end and ask people about their life’s biggest decisions.

What are life’s biggest decisions?

I have spent most of my career studying what you might call small decisions: what product to buy , which portfolio to invest in , and who to hire . But none of this research was very helpful when, a few years ago, I found myself having to make some big life decisions.

To better understand what life’s biggest decisions are, I recruited 657 Americans aged between 20 and 80 years old to tell me about the ten biggest decisions in their lives so far.

Each decision was classified into one of nine categories and 58 subcategories. At the end of the survey, respondents ranked the ten decisions from biggest to smallest. You can take the survey yourself here . (If you do, your answers may help develop my research further.)

The following chart shows each of the 58 decision subcategories in terms of how often it was mentioned (along the horizontal axis) and how big the decision was considered in retrospect (along the vertical axis).

In the upper right of the chart we see decisions that are both very significant and very common. Getting married and having a child stand out clearly here.

Other fairly common big life decisions include starting a new job and pursuing a degree. Less common, but among the highest ranked life decisions, include ending a life – such as that of an unborn child or a dying parent – and engaging in self-harm.

Of course, the results depend on who you ask. Men in their 70s have different answers than women in their 30s. To explore this data more deeply, I’ve built a tool that allows you to filter these results down to specific types of respondents.

Read more: How to help take control of your brain and make better decisions

What are life’s biggest regrets?

Much can also be learned about how to make good life decisions by asking people what their biggest regrets are. Regret is a negative emotion you feel when reflecting on past decisions and wishing you had done something differently.

In 2012, Australian caregiver Bronnie Ware wrote a book about her experiences in palliative care. There were five regrets that dying people told her about most often:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends
I wish I had let myself be happier.

This anecdotal evidence has received support from more rigorous academic research. For example, a 2011 study asked a nationally representative sample of 270 Americans to describe one significant life regret. The six most commonly reported regrets involved romance (19.3%), family (16.9%), education (14.0%), career (13.8%), finance (9.9%), and parenting (9.0%).

Although lost loves and unfulfilling relationships were the most common regrets, there was an interesting gender difference. For women, regrets about love (romance/family) were more common than regrets about work (career/education), while the reverse was true for men.

What causes regret?

Several factors increase the chances you will feel regret.

In the long run it is inaction — deciding not to pursue something — that generates more regret . This is particularly true for males, especially when it comes to romantic relationships . If only I had asked her out, we might now be happily married.

Poor decisions produce greater regret when it is harder to justify those decisions in retrospect. I really value my friends and family so why did I leave them all behind to take up that overseas job?

Given that we are social beings, poor decisions in domains relevant to our sense of social belonging — such as romantic and family contexts — are more often regretted . Why did I break up my family by having a fling?

Regrets tend to be strongest for lost opportunities : that is, when undesirable outcomes that could have been prevented in the past can no longer be affected. I could have had a better relationship with my daughter if I had been there more often when she was growing up.

The most enduring regrets in life result from decisions that move you further from the ideal person that you want to be . I wanted to be a role model but I couldn’t put the wine bottle down.

Making big life decisions without regrets

These findings provide valuable lessons for those with big life decisions ahead, which is nearly everyone. You’re likely to have to keep making big decisions over the whole course of your life.

The most important decisions in life relate to family and friends. Spend the time getting these decisions right and then don’t let other distractions — particularly those at work — undermine these relationships.

Seize opportunities. You can apologise or change course later but you can’t time travel. Your education and experience can never be lost.

Read more: Running the risk: why experience matters when making decisions

Avoid making decisions that violate your personal values and move you away from your aspirational self. If you have good justifications for a decision now, no matter what happens, you’ll at least not regret it later.

I continue to ask people to tell me about their biggest life decisions. It’s a great way to learn about someone. Once I have collected enough stories, I hope to write a book so that we can all learn from the collective wisdom of those who have been there before.

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How examining our regrets can make for a more meaningful life

Andee Tagle

Illustration of a woman from the shoulders up. Her shoulders face the right side of the frame, the bottom half of her face faces the viewer and the top half of her head faces "backwards" to the left side of the frame.

Instead of the all-too-familiar notion of living a life with no regrets, what if we embraced them? What if we used the past as a guide for better living?

That's what author Daniel H. Pink asks us to consider, after spending years researching human regret — an emotion distinct from sadness or disappointment because of the agency involved in it.

A journalist and author of several non-fiction books, including The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward , Pink got curious about regret and decided to compile data on it in a qualitative way — he surveyed regret all over the world, asking anyone to write in with their regrets, ultimately receiving tens of thousands of stories and missives with which he could compile, classify, analyze and recognize patterns.

People regret not taking action

A key takeaway, he found, was that regrets of inaction outnumber regrets of action 2:1, and it goes up as people age. That's because "action" regrets, like marrying the wrong person, can be undone, and you can think about them in terms of "at leasts." For example, many people who felt they married the wrong person would say, "At least I have these great kids." With regrets of inaction, that's impossible.

"One of the big categories of regrets that you see are boldness regrets. If only I'd taken the chance. If only I'd asked out that person on a date. If only I traveled. If only I'd spoken up. If only I'd launched a business. We should have a bias for action because we overstate the amount of risk and difficulty sometimes. What's more, I think ... we plan too much and act too little. Sometimes we don't realize that action is a form of knowing. That we can figure stuff out by doing it," Pink said.

Book cover of "The Power of Regret," by Daniel H. Pink.

Boldness regrets are common, but they're not the only type.

Pink's data showed regrets tend to cluster into four different types

6 tips for making a career change, from someone who has done it

How to be less indecisive about everyday decisions

Foundation regrets: These are the regrets from not "doing the work." Not laying the foundation for a more stable, less precarious life. Things like, not saving money for retirement. Not getting a certain degree, not exercising and eating right to take good care of your body.

Moral regrets: Regrets in which you did the wrong thing. Bullying is an example, or choices of unkindness. "I was stunned by how many people regretted bullying people younger in their life, and marital infidelity," Pink said.

Connection regrets: "If only I'd reached out," is the telltale sign of a connection regret. It is the largest category of regrets, and they are about relationships — family, friendships, romantic and beyond. These regrets come about when people drift apart, but neither tries to connect for fear it's awkward. Reaching out, Pink says, is "very rarely as awkward as people think, and it's almost always well-received."

Boldness regrets: Boldness regrets are about a chance that wasn't taken. Things like opportunities to study abroad or leaving a dead-end job, but for whatever reason, you chose to play it safe.

Faced With A Tough Decision? The Key To Choosing May Be Your Mindset

Faced with a tough decision the key to choosing may be your mindset.

These four types of regrets revealed what humans value, Pink says. They have something to teach us. Pink uses the example of photographic negatives to explain how each of the most common regret types reveal, in their inverse, a deep human need. The human need for growth is linked to boldness regrets, for example. With moral regrets, the need is goodness. With foundation regrets, it's stability. And with connection regrets, the human need is love.

"Looking back can help us moving forward, but only if we do it right," he writes.

Doing regret right

So if we're not living a life without regrets, but instead maximizing our regrets to live a fuller, more flourishing life, how do we actually do that? Pink suggests a three-part strategy: inward, outward and forward.

1. Look inward : Reframe how we think about our regrets. We speak to ourselves more cruelly than we'd speak to anyone else. Practice self-compassion.

2. Look outward : Practice disclosure. Sharing your emotions is a form of unburdening. We can make sense of regret through talking or writing.

3. Move forward : Extract a lesson from your regret. You need to create distance to help yourself process. Some ideas:

Talk to yourself in the third person. "What should Dan do?"
Imagine making a phone call to yourself in 10 years. Ask yourself about your choice, "Should I buy a blue car or a green car?" You'll quickly see that the future you doesn't care. "Should I go to this funeral or reach out to a friend?" You'll see that the you in the year 2032 will be bugged by the fact that you didn't do those things.
Ask yourself: what advice would I give my best friend?

Exercises to help you 'optimize' regret

"Our goal should not be to minimize regret. It should be to optimize it," Pink writes. So in addition to the "inward, outward, forward" system, he also offers some fun, practical ways to work regrets into living more fully.

For example, we all have resumes full of our accomplishments. What about a failure resume? This is an idea he credits to Tina Seeling . It's a way to metabolize our past missteps by putting them in writing.

Or combining our annual New Year's Resolutions with last year's regrets , so that the feeling of regret can be used for thinking and reflection, and that reflection can then power action.

Because a relentless drive forward, a relentless posture of happiness, does not make for a full life. "Americans have been sold a bill of goods that we should be positive all the time, that we should always look forward," Pink says. "There's a reason we experience negative emotions. They're useful if we treat them right. Regret, you don't want to wallow in it. You don't want to ruminate over it. But if you think of it as a signal, as information, as a knock at the door, it is a powerfully transformative emotion."

Looking backward can point us to a fuller, more meaningful life.

Feeling Lots Of....Feelings? Journaling Can Help

Elise Hu is the host of TED Talks Daily .

The podcast portion of this story was produced by Andee Tagle.

We'd love to hear from you. If you have a good life hack, leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823 or email us at [email protected] . Your tip could appear in an upcoming episode.

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How to Get Over Regrets and Move Forward

Maskot / Getty Images

Why Regrets Are Harmful

The Positive Side of Regrets

What are our most intense regrets, how can you stop thinking about regrets.

Ways to Move Forward

When we feel disappointment and sorrow over what might have been or we wish we could change a choice we made in the past, we have regrets.

Often, a sense of shame accompanies our regrets. As these feelings are so uncomfortable, we avoid them at all costs. Or endless regret always stays with us. In the latter case, regret might haunt us and prevent us from progressing.

For example, maybe you worked too much while your children grew up. Consequently, they are not close to you, and you are filled with regret about it. You feel stuck because your kids and your grandchildren aren’t in touch. You blame your past actions.

Letting go of regret is important for your mental, emotional and physical health. Learn more about how regrets are harmful, the positive side of regrets, what our most intense regrets are, how to stop thinking about regrets, and ways to get over regrets and move forward.

How Regrets Are Harmful

Regrets can be harmful when we don’t want to accept them. For example, maybe you didn’t defend your friend who was accused of saying something derogatory. You didn’t speak up at the time to clear their name.

You push down those feelings of guilt and embarrassment because they are unpleasant. You end up feeling disappointed in yourself and don’t want to be reminded of the incident.

Or you remember the situation all too well, but don’t know how to overcome your regret. Imaging studies reveal that when we feel regret increased activity takes place in an area of the brain called the medial orbitofrontal cortex. Regret can have adverse effects on your mind.

Various psychological problems result from regret. Repetitive negative thought patterns and constant rumination can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression . This kind of mental and emotional pain also affects our bodies .

A recent study shows another negative effect self-blame has on our bodies. Scientists found that inducing self-blame leads to increases in shame and guilt as well as increases in pro-inflammatory cytokine activity. According to Cleveland Clinic, inflammation is a symptom of many diseases like arthritis, cancer, and heart disease.

When we reflect on regrettable choices we made in the past, that’s a good thing. We grow from reflection and can learn from our missteps. Inspired to be better, we improve on our decision-making so we don’t repeat our mistakes.

Another positive aspect of regret is it can move you closer to being your best self. A study about people’s most enduring regrets was published in the journal Emotion where scientists looked at the connection between regret and an individual’s self-concept.

The results showed people acted more quickly to cope with regrets when they fell short in their duties and responsibilities than when they fell short in their goals and aspirations. Therefore, regrets about their ideal selves were not resolved. People were more likely to regret not living up to being that ideal person and using their full potential.

In the first study to analyze key predictors in a single model, scientists looked at factors that affect the intensity of regret over a lifetime.

They found that people had a greater frequency of regrets about the lack of action (inaction) they took in their lives.

Yet, when these individuals reviewed their life paths, the intensity of regrets about inaction did not cause greater grief. People felt more intense regret about the actions they did take.

In looking at these actions, scientists discovered that the intensity of regret was greatest in this order:

About decisions that broke participants’ own life rules
About decisions related to social life domains rather than non-social domains
About decisions that lacked justification

Press Play for Advice On Dealing With Regret

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast , featuring best-selling author Daniel Pink, shares how to cope with the feeling of regret. Click below to listen now.

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It might seem like your brain is playing the regret song on repeat. You may compare yourself to friends and claim, “I’d be rich now if I went to a better college.” Or you play the what if game by saying, “If only I didn’t post that angry remark on Twitter, I wouldn’t have lost my job.”

Here are suggested ways to get out of your head and overcome that cycle of regret, self-blame, and shame:

Turn off rumination
Choose mindfulness
Take deep breaths
Start a new hobby

Laurel Healy, LCSW, says, “If thoughts turn to self-blame and are serving no purpose, it’s important not to interrupt them. But we can train our minds to move on by distracting ourselves, meditating, talking to a friend and bringing ourselves into the present moment.”

Ways to Move Forward When You’re Feeling Regretful

If you're feeling regret, here are some steps you can take to move forward:

Have Empathy for Yourself

Let’s say you dropped out of college to work so you could buy a car more quickly. Now you believe getting that college degree would’ve been a better choice. Maybe you've been feeling regretful over this decision and feel like you're not on par with your peers.

Show yourself the same grace and empathy that would provide a loved one if they were feeling regretful about a past action.

Put yourself in your younger self's shoes. Ask yourself questions about your past choice. Did you do the best you could under the circumstances? Was your decision based on the maturity you had at the time? Answering these questions can help provide some insight into your decision.

Remind yourself that people can only make decisions based on the information they have at the time. If you did the best you could with the knowledge you had, try not to beat yourself up about your decision.

Cultivate Self-Compassion

Researchers at UC Berkeley conducted a study about self-compassion and regrets. Those participants who viewed their regrets with self-compassion felt they learned from their mistakes. With a positive adjustment, they were more motivated to improve themselves than the other groups.

In the study, researchers invited adults to write about their biggest regrets with kindness and self-compassion. Other participants were instructed to journal about their regrets and focus on their positive qualities as they related to self-esteem. The control group wrote about a hobby they enjoyed participating in.

Those participants who viewed their regrets with self-compassion felt they learned from their mistakes and were more motivated to improve themselves than the other two groups.

Forgive Yourself

You’re not letting yourself off the hook if you forgive yourself and let go of regret. Self-forgiveness involves separating your far-from-perfect actions from who you are as a person.

By forgiving yourself, you are recognizing that you are a worthy person and that we all err because we’re human.

Steps you can take to cultivate self-forgiveness:

Acknowledge the poor decision
Offer yourself compassion
Learn the lesson
Repair or make amends
Release regret

Write About Your Regrets

You can try journaling or writing a letter to the person you hurt. You can also write a letter to yourself about your regrets. First, write in detail about the event and accept what happened. Then write about what you learned from it and what you can do differently in the future. Lastly, write about what could make this situation better now.

Regarding the last part, you can’t go back in time. But maybe you can do something good now. As an example, that father who worked too much and whose family isn’t close could now volunteer with young kids at a local Boys and Girls Club.

Seek Mental Health Counseling

If you’ve been obsessing about your regrets, this fixation can prevent you from healing. Consider counseling if you feel like you're unable to move forward. Mental health practitioners have a variety of therapies that might assist you.

For example, cognitive-behavioral therapy can help you disrupt negative thought patterns that are involved with regret. It can help you learn how to create more positive behaviors.

A Word From Verywell

If you're feeling regret over something from your past, know you're not alone in feeling this way. Everyone has something (or many things) that they regret. However, there are ways to heal and move forward by showing yourself understanding. If that's too difficult, enlist the help of a mental health professional . A therapist can help you manage feelings of regret so they no longer hold you back.

Coricelli G, Critchley HD, Joffily M, O'Doherty JP, Sirigu A, Dolan RJ. Regret and its avoidance: a neuroimaging study of choice behavior . Nat Neurosci . 2005;8(9):1255-1262. doi:10.1038/nn1514

Dickerson SS, Kemeny ME, Aziz N, Kim KH, Fahey JL. Immunological effects of induced shame and guilt . Psychosom Med . 2004;66(1):124-131. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000097338.75454.29

The Cleveland Clinic. Inflammation .

Davidai S, Gilovich T. The ideal road not taken: The self-discrepancies involved in people's most enduring regrets . Emotion . 2018;18(3):439-452. doi:10.1037/emo0000326

Towers A, Williams MN, Hill SR, Philipp MC, Flett R. What Makes for the Most Intense Regrets? Comparing the Effects of Several Theoretical Predictors of Regret Intensity . Front Psychol . 2016;7:1941. Published 2016 Dec 15. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01941

Zhang JW, Chen S. Self-Compassion Promotes Personal Improvement From Regret Experiences via Acceptance . Pers Soc Psychol Bull . 2016;42(2):244-258. doi:10.1177/0146167215623271

By Barbara Field Barbara is a writer and speaker who is passionate about mental health, overall wellness, and women's issues.

What is your biggest regret in life? 7 Sample Answers

Regrets are an inescapable part of life. We all have things we wish we had done differently, choices we wish we had made differently, and opportunities we wish we had seized. In this article, I will explain how to answer to the interview question “What is your biggest regret in life?” to give you some inspiration and guidance on how to approach this question.

What is your biggest regret in life sample answers

Whether you’re asked about your regrets in a job interview, a therapy session, or a casual conversation, it’s important, to be honest, self-reflective, and constructive when discussing your regrets. By examining our regrets and learning from them, we can grow and move forward in a positive direction. So, let’s get started!

Table of Contents

What is regret?

A regret is a feeling of remorse or sadness about something that has happened in the past and cannot be changed. Regrets can be about choices, things we have done or not done, or opportunities that have passed us by. We may regret not being a better friend or family member, not taking better care of our health, not pursuing our dreams or passions, not standing up for ourselves or others, or not taking risks or trying new things.

Regrets can be small and fleeting, or they can be deeply ingrained and long-lasting. They can be a source of guilt, self-blame, and frustration, or they can be a source of insight, learning, and growth. Ultimately, how we think about and deal with our regrets can greatly impact our happiness, well-being, and success in life.

Tips on answering the question “What is your biggest regret in life?”:

Be honest: It’s important to be genuine and authentic when answering this question. Don’t downplay your regrets or pretend you don’t have any.
Don’t overshare: While honesty is important, it’s also important to be mindful of your audience and the context in which you’re answering the question. Only go into a little detail or share sensitive or personal information that is necessary.
Focus on the lesson: Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of your regret, try to focus on what you learned from the experience and how you grew.
Keep it positive: While it’s okay to acknowledge your regrets, try to avoid getting stuck in negative emotions or self-pity. Instead, focus on the positive things you’ve gained from your experiences and how you can move forward.
Practice self-compassion: Be kind to yourself when answering this question. Remember that everyone makes mistakes and regrets, and it’s important to understand and forgive yourself.

What is Your Aim in Life? Best Answer for Interview

Describe a Positive Change in Your Life? 6 Sample Answers

7 Sample Answers to “What is your biggest regret in life?”

“My biggest regret is not pursuing my dream of becoming a writer. I always loved writing and wanted to be a novelist, but I let fear and insecurity hold me back. I wish I had mustered the courage to follow my passion and give it a shot. Now, I’m in a career I’m not fully satisfied with, and I regret not taking the chance on my dream when I had the chance.”
“My biggest regret is not being a better friend to someone who needed my support. I had a close friend going through a tough time, and I wasn’t there for them like I should have been. I was too caught up in my own life and problems, and I didn’t try to be there for them like a true friend should. I regret not being a better friend and not showing them the love and support they needed.
“My biggest regret is not taking better care of my health. I used to be active and fit, but I let my health slip over the years. I ate unhealthy foods, didn’t exercise enough, and didn’t prioritize my health. Now, I have many health issues that could have been avoided if I had made healthier choices. I regret not taking better care of myself and not valuing my health more.
“My biggest regret is not standing up for myself or others when it mattered. There have been times in my life when I didn’t speak up or take action when I saw something wrong or unfair. I regret not being braver, more assertive, and not standing up for what I believed in.
“My biggest regret is not taking risks or trying new things. I’ve always been a bit of a risk-averse person, and I’ve missed many opportunities because of it. I regret not stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new things, whether traveling to a new country, starting my own business, or learning a new skill. I wish I had taken more chances and not been so afraid of failure.”
“My biggest regret is not being more present and attentive in my relationships. I’ve always been a workaholic, and I’ve let my career and other obligations take priority over my relationships. As a result, I’ve missed a lot of quality time with my friends and family, and I’ve taken them for granted. I regret not making more of an effort to be present and engaged in my relationships and not valuing them more.
“My biggest regret is not taking more time for myself and my personal growth. I’ve always been driven and ambitious, and I’ve always had a lot of goals and projects on the go. However, I’ve often neglected my well-being and self-care in pursuing these goals. I regret not taking more time to relax, recharge, and invest in my personal growth and development. I wish I had made more of an effort to prioritize my well-being and happiness.”

List of Common Interview Questions and Answers

Recap the article’s main points: In this article, we explored the concept of regrets and how to think about them. We also provided five example answers to the question, “What is your biggest regret in life?”

Emphasize the importance of learning from regrets and not dwelling on the past too much: It’s important to try to learn from our regrets and use them as a source of insight and growth rather than dwelling on the past and getting stuck in negative emotions.

Encourage readers to think about their biggest regrets and how they can move forward positively: Take some time to reflect on your biggest regrets and what you can learn from them. Remember that there is always time to move forward in a positive direction and make the most of your present and future.

It’s Time to Make Peace with Your Regrets

Vasundhara Sawhney

Learn to leave things in the past — where they happened.

For some of us, good things have happened this past year. We’ve been able to spend more time with loved ones, get back into hobbies, and learn new things. But for others, so much has been lost — in work, in social capital, and in life. Many of us are also feeling regret.

Regret is an emotion we’re all familiar with and it surfaces with action as well as inaction. We tend to feel regret about the things we haven’t done (missed opportunities) more intensely than regret about the things we did do.
Regret, like all difficult emotions, is neither intrinsically good nor bad. It is the actions we carry out in response to feeling regret that impact our long-term wellbeing.
To cope with regret and leave the past where it happened we need to: 1) Recognize our feelings and let them out. 2) Look at the past with gratitude rather than the lost opportunity costs. 3) Make regret productive by thinking about what we value and what actions we can take to get closer to the things that matter to us.

Do we still need to talk about the many ways this pandemic has impacted our lives? I think I’m past that stage. But I do occasionally sit with myself and feel sad, mostly for something that I’ve lost: time. While chatting with a friend recently — over Zoom, of course — we spoke about how we had made so many plans when 2020 began: We set goals for our careers, booked elaborate travel arrangements, and were prepared to celebrate milestone birthdays, including the day I would meet my nephew and my sister’s first child.

Vasundhara Sawhney is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

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Regret Essay Examples

My biggest regret in life.

In "One Of My Biggest Regret Essay" paper I will share with you my biggest regret in my life. One of the biggest regrets in my life was not talking to my dear grandfather before he passed away. My grandfather was a proud man and...

There Should Be No Place for Regret in Our Life

Regret is something many of us, well regret. As we pioneer and dodge through life’s bullets, we tend to imagine how different life would be if we had decided to do something differently, bringing me to the moment in which I lost my orange sweater....

Theme of Choices and Regret in the Watchmaker's Doctor by G. M. T. Schuilling

Anaya, known as Ana to her friends, is leading a regretful and unhappy life. Until one day, when she is unexpectedly confronted with an opportunity to fix her biggest regret in life. The Watchmaker's Doctor by G. M. T. Schuilling asks - can changing one...

Negative' Emotions: Differences from Frustration and Regret

Famous American writer Carson McCullers once suffered from a disabling spinal disease, and the doctor predicted that her chance of survival was 1/500. Then, Carson often read humorous novels, watched funny movies, and insisted on “smile therapy.” Thus, her condition improved, and she returned to...

The Experience of Anticipated Regret in Adolescents in Group Decision Making

In gambling, the use of anticipated regret has been explored in some studies. A study by Tochkov investigated the role of anticipated regret in situations of problem and social gambling. This study examined the relationship between anticipated regret and the risk preferences of problem and...

Disgust and Regret after Casual Sex

Regret and counterfactual thinking have a great impact on several domains of a human’s existence, including emotional well-being, decision making, behavior regulation and mental health. This has made the mentioned topics widely studied across different demographics and cultures over the past decades. Regret refers to,...

The Theme of Regret in One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

In “One Amazing Thing” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is about a group of people who get trapped in a visa office if the Indian Consulate after an earthquake hits. As they wait for rescue, Uma urges everyone to share one amazing thing about their life...

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