Regret patterns

The choices we regret.

Every dilemma shows the share who regret acting versus the share who regret not acting.

204 decisions

27% regret acting

34% regret waiting

Health

Quitting smoking

% who regret this choice

Quitting smokingContinuing to smoke

1.0%90%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 90.0× higher

lifestyle

Procrastination

% who regret this choice

Acting immediatelyProcrastinating

20%95%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.7× higher

lifestyle

Keeping vs rehoming a pet

% who regret this choice

Keeping the petRehoming the pet

15%86%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 5.7× higher

Health

Starting to smoke as a teen

% who regret this choice

Started smoking as a teenagerNever started smoking

72%2.0%

Action dominates

Action regret 36.0× higher

lifestyle

Travel spending

% who regret this choice

Spending on travelSaving the money instead of traveling

6.0%71%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 11.8× higher

lifestyle

Vegetarian diet

% who regret this choice

Going vegetarian/veganContinuing to eat meat

84%22%

Action dominates

Action regret 3.8× higher

Health

Exercise habits

% who regret this choice

Exercising regularlyStaying sedentary

5.0%67%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 13.4× higher

Health

Regular drinking

% who regret this choice

Drinking alcoholAbstaining from alcohol

70%12%

Action dominates

Action regret 5.8× higher

family

Family meals

% who regret this choice

Regular family mealsEating separately/in a rush

9.0%62%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 6.9× higher

family

Breast vs bottle

% who regret this choice

BreastfeedingFormula feeding

15%67%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.5× higher

lifestyle

Follow parents vs. own path

% who regret this choice

Pursuing your own aspirations despite family pressureDeferring to family expectations

24%76%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.2× higher

Health

MAT vs abstinence for opioid addiction

% who regret this choice

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)Abstinence-only recovery (no medication)

18%70%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.9× higher

Financial

Keep gambling vs quit

% who regret this choice

Continuing to gambleQuitting / sustained abstinence

56%5.0%

Action dominates

Action regret 11.2× higher

lifestyle

Intermittent fasting

% who regret this choice

Adopting intermittent fastingEating on a regular 3-meals-per-day schedule

78%27%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.9× higher

Financial

Disability insurance

% who regret this choice

Buying disability income insuranceGoing without disability income insurance

30%80%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.7× higher

Financial

Prenuptial agreement vs. none

% who regret this choice

Signing a prenuptial agreementMarrying without a prenuptial agreement

64%15%

Action dominates

Action regret 4.2× higher

lifestyle

Stop driving in old age

% who regret this choice

Stop driving (voluntary cessation)Continue driving

68%20%

Action dominates

Action regret 3.4× higher

family

Family estrangement

% who regret this choice

Cutting off contactMaintaining the relationship

20%67%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.4× higher

family

Take paternity leave vs. skip it

% who regret this choice

Taking full paternity leaveTaking some leave but cutting it short of what was wanted

13%59%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.5× higher

lifestyle

Leave high-control group vs. stay

% who regret this choice

Leaving a high-control religious or ideological groupStaying in the high-control group

20%65%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.3× higher

familyDirect

Child social media account access

% who regret this choice

Giving child social media account access (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.)Delaying or blocking social media account access

54%10%

Action dominates

Action regret 5.4× higher

Financial

Payday loan decision

% who regret this choice

Taking the payday loanGoing without the loan

37%81%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.2× higher

family

Sharenting vs. child digital privacy

% who regret this choice

Regularly sharing your child's life on social media (sharenting)Protecting the child's digital privacy, keeping them off social media

52%8.0%

Action dominates

Action regret 6.5× higher

Financial

Home renovation

% who regret this choice

RenovatingLeaving as is

74%32%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.3× higher

Health

DNA ancestry/health test vs. opt out

% who regret this choice

Taking a consumer DNA test (23andMe, AncestryDNA, or similar)Opting out of consumer DNA testing, preserving genetic ignorance

11%52%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.7× higher

lifestyle

Hiring cleaning help

% who regret this choice

Hiring cleaning helpCleaning yourself

9.0%50%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 5.6× higher

career

Retrain for AI disruption vs. wait

% who regret this choice

Proactively retraining for an AI-adjacent or AI-resilient roleWaiting to see how AI disruption plays out before retraining

15%56%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.7× higher

careerDirect

Asking for a raise

% who regret this choice

Asking for a raiseWaiting to be recognized

20%60%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.0× higher

family

Cheating regret

% who regret this choice

Having an affairResisting an affair / staying faithful

55%15%

Action dominates

Action regret 3.7× higher

Health

Seeking treatment vs hiding addiction

% who regret this choice

Seeking addiction treatmentManaging addiction without treatment

12%52%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.3× higher

lifestyle

Keeping vs losing friendships

% who regret this choice

Actively maintaining friendshipsLetting friendships drift

8.0%47%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 5.9× higher

Financial

Term vs. whole life

% who regret this choice

Term life insuranceWhole life insurance

7.0%45%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 6.4× higher

lifestyle

Protest vs silence

% who regret this choice

Participating in public protestStaying silent during injustice

16%53%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.3× higher

FinancialDirect

Buying a house

% who regret this choice

Buying a houseRenting long-term

8.0%45%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 5.6× higher

lifestyle

Civic engagement vs sit out

% who regret this choice

Engaging in local civic governmentStaying out of local governance

16%53%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.3× higher

Health

Gender-affirming care

% who regret this choice

Pursue gender-affirming care (hormones and/or surgery)Live without gender-affirming medical treatment

3.0%40%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 13.3× higher

lifestyle

Leave abusive partner vs. stay

% who regret this choice

Leaving the abusive relationshipStaying in the abusive relationship

18%55%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.1× higher

Financial

Long-term care insurance vs. self-insure

% who regret this choice

Purchasing long-term care insuranceSelf-insuring or relying on Medicaid without LTC coverage

25%62%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.5× higher

lifestyle

NA substitute

% who regret this choice

Substituting non-alcoholic alternativesContinuing to drink alcohol

33%70%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.1× higher

career

China: accept gaokao vs. re-sit

% who regret this choice

Accepting the gaokao result and enrollingRe-sitting the gaokao as a fukaosheng

66%30%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.2× higher

family

Child smartphone timing

% who regret this choice

Giving a smartphone early (under age 12)Waiting until adolescence (age 12 or older) to give a smartphone

39%3.0%

Action dominates

Action regret 13.0× higher

career

Starting a business

% who regret this choice

Starting a businessStaying employed

8.0%44%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 5.5× higher

lifestyle

Overstay vs leave

% who regret this choice

Staying after the visa expires (overstaying)Leaving on time (complying with visa terms)

44%9.0%

Action dominates

Action regret 4.9× higher

family

Egg/sperm freeze vs. wait

% who regret this choice

Freeze eggs or sperm nowWait and try to conceive naturally when ready

16%51%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.2× higher

family

Structured vs free play

% who regret this choice

Structured activitiesFree play and unstructured time

57%22%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.6× higher

career

Japan: lifetime employment vs. job change

% who regret this choice

Staying with one company for lifeChanging jobs mid-career

25%60%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.4× higher

lifestyle

Flee conflict zone

% who regret this choice

Fleeing the conflict zoneStaying in the conflict zone

13%47%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.6× higher

career

Persist through difficulty vs. quit

% who regret this choice

Persisting through major difficulty in a long-term pursuitQuitting when a pursuit becomes difficult

33%67%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.0× higher

lifestyleDirect

Vietnam: migrate to city vs. stay

% who regret this choice

Migrating to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, or an industrial zoneStaying in the home village

64%30%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.1× higher

lifestyle

Rideshare vs drive after drinks

% who regret this choice

Take a rideshare, cab, or sober rideDrive yourself after drinking

7.0%40%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 5.7× higher