What Makes a Good Life? This Study on 26,000 Regrets Will Guide You for the Rest of Your Life

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May 25, 2026

Daniel Pink, author and researcher who led the Global Regret Survey of 26,000 regrets, shares big-picture research on why regret matters. He describes four regret types, why missed opportunities hurt more than mistakes, and practical moves to reconnect, build foundations, and act sooner. Short, surprising, and action-focused conversation about using regret to guide what you do next.

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ANECDOTE

Real Regrets Mel Read From Listeners

Mel reads real submissions like not talking to my father before he passed and quitting a career from burnout to show regret's weight.
These raw examples illustrate how common connection, career, and parenting regrets are across ages.

ANECDOTE

Mel's Hidden Debt Sparked Lasting Change

Mel shares her decade-long money regret: secret credit card debt grew into $800,000 of family debt, which changed how she handles money.
That pain forced lasting behavior change and eventually financial recovery.

ADVICE

Use Self Compassion Not Self Contempt

Practice self-compassion: treat yourself like a friend, not with contempt, and stop using regret to define your whole life.
Pink stresses mistakes are scenes in your life, not the full story, and self-kindness improves outcomes.

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When was the last time you thought about something you wish you'd done differently?

A relationship you let drift apart. A mistake you wish you could take back. A conversation you keep putting off. A decision that you now realize was the wrong one.

You’re not alone. Regret is actually one of the most common emotions people experience – and it’s the most misunderstood.

That’s why Mel invited Daniel Pink, one of the most influential thinkers and authors of our time, to share the findings of his World Regret Survey, the largest study of human regret ever conducted, analyzing more than 26,000 regrets from people across 134 countries.

After analyzing regrets from all around the world, his research has found that there are 4 core types of regrets, and based on what kind of regret you're dealing with, there are specific strategies that you can use to process it, learn from it, and move forward.

You’re also going to be inspired to take action after hearing what other people regret the most, so you can live in a way that will avoid these regrets for yourself.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

-The 4 types of regret and how to recognize yours

-The one type of regret that shows up more than any other

-Why the things you didn't do will haunt you far more than the things you did, and what that tells you to go do today

-Daniel's 3-step reset to stop repeating the same patterns and start moving forward

-One simple move you can make today to stop repeating the same regret pattern

This is not a conversation about the past. It's a conversation about what you do next.

Because after studying 26,000 regrets, the answer is clear:

You can't change what happened. You can change what happens next.

For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page.

If you liked the episode, check out this one next: This One Study Will Change How You Think About Your Entire Life: The Cornell Legacy Project

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