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Decisions
Decision dilemmas
196
Life decisions where both action and inaction carry measurable regret. Each entry shows survey-backed regret rates on both sides of the choice.
Dataset meta-analysis
Breakdown by category
5 categories · 196 decisions
▾
Sort by
Most lopsided
Most regret
Alphabetical
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Lifestyle · 55
25%
·
38%
▸
Financial · 31
30%
·
32%
Across our 196 dilemmas, people regret what they didn’t do 1.5× more often than what they did. Backed by 30 years of research
(JPSP, 1994 ).
Most lopsided
Most lopsided
Most balanced
Most regret acting
Most regret not acting
Highest evidence quality
Category
Lifestyle
Family
Health
Financial
Career
Health
% who regret this choice
Quitting smoking Continuing to smoke
1.0% 90%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 90.0× higher
Financial
% who regret this choice
Continuing to gamble Quitting / sustained abstinence
85% 8.0%
Action dominates Action regret 10.6× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Acting immediately Procrastinating
20% 95%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 4.7× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Keeping the pet Rehoming the pet
15% 86%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 5.7× higher
Health
% who regret this choice
Started smoking as a teenager Never started smoking
72% 2.0%
Action dominates Action regret 36.0× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Spending on travel Saving the money instead of traveling
6.0% 71%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 11.8× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Going vegetarian/vegan Continuing to eat meat
84% 22%
Action dominates Action regret 3.8× higher
Health
% who regret this choice
Drinking alcohol Abstaining from alcohol
70% 12%
Action dominates Action regret 5.8× higher
Financial
% who regret this choice
Appealing the court ruling Accepting the original ruling without appeal
86% 30%
Action dominates Action regret 2.9× higher
family
% who regret this choice
Regular family meals Eating separately/in a rush
9.0% 62%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 6.9× higher
family
% who regret this choice
Breastfeeding Formula feeding
15% 67%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 4.5× higher
Financial
% who regret this choice
Buying disability income insurance Going without disability income insurance
28% 80%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 2.9× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Pursuing your own aspirations despite family pressure Deferring to family expectations
24% 76%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.2× higher
Health
% who regret this choice
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) Abstinence-only recovery (no medication)
18% 70%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.9× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Adopting intermittent fasting Eating on a regular 3-meals-per-day schedule
78% 27%
Action dominates Action regret 2.9× higher
family
% who regret this choice
Cutting off contact Maintaining the relationship
20% 67%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.4× higher
Health
% who regret this choice
Exercising regularly Staying sedentary
5.0% 52%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 10.4× higher
family
% who regret this choice
Taking full paternity leave Returning to work within two weeks of birth
13% 59%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 4.5× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Reaching out to reconcile Letting the relationship lapse
12% 57%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 4.8× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Stop driving (voluntary cessation) Continue driving
65% 20%
Action dominates Action regret 3.3× higher
% 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
career
% who regret this choice
Negotiating salary Accepting without negotiating
13% 57%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 4.4× higher
Health
% who regret this choice
Reject conventional cancer treatment; pursue alternative medicine only (no surgery, chemo, radiation, or hormone therapy) Accept conventional cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy as indicated by stage)
65% 22%
Action dominates Action regret 3.0× higher
career
% who regret this choice
Using AI to write the assignment Writing it yourself
60% 18%
Action dominates Action regret 3.3× higher
Financial
% who regret this choice
Renovating Leaving as is
74% 32%
Action dominates Action regret 2.3× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Participating in public protest Staying silent during injustice
12% 53%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 4.4× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Hiring cleaning help Cleaning yourself
9.0% 50%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 5.6× higher
career
% who regret this choice
Proactively retraining for an AI-adjacent or AI-resilient role Waiting to see how AI disruption plays out before retraining
15% 56%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.7× higher
% who regret this choice
Asking for a raise Waiting to be recognized
20% 60%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.0× higher
family
% who regret this choice
Having an affair Resisting an affair / staying faithful
55% 15%
Action dominates Action regret 3.7× higher
Health
% who regret this choice
Seeking addiction treatment Managing addiction without treatment
12% 52%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 4.3× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Actively maintaining friendships Letting friendships drift
8.0% 47%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 5.9× higher
Financial
% who regret this choice
Term life insurance Whole life insurance
7.0% 45%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 6.4× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Admitting the serious mistake openly Concealing or deflecting the serious mistake
14% 51%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.6× higher
% who regret this choice
Buying a house Renting long-term
8.0% 45%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 5.6× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Engaging in local civic government Staying out of local governance
16% 53%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.3× higher
Health
% 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
% who regret this choice
Leaving the abusive relationship Staying in the abusive relationship
18% 55%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.1× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Substituting non-alcoholic alternatives Continuing to drink alcohol
33% 70%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 2.1× higher
career
% who regret this choice
Accepting the gaokao result and enrolling Re-sitting the gaokao as a fukaosheng
66% 30%
Action dominates Action regret 2.2× higher
Financial
% who regret this choice
Creating a will and estate plan while healthy Delaying estate planning until a crisis
6.0% 42%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 7.0× higher
family
% 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
% who regret this choice
Entering civil service Choosing the private sector
58% 22%
Action dominates Action regret 2.6× higher
family
% who regret this choice
Structured activities Free play and unstructured time
57% 22%
Action dominates Action regret 2.6× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Emigrating from Venezuela Staying in Venezuela during the crisis
26% 61%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 2.3× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Fleeing the conflict zone Staying in the conflict zone
13% 47%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.6× higher
% who regret this choice
Migrating to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, or an industrial zone Staying in the home village
64% 30%
Action dominates Action regret 2.1× higher
Financial
% who regret this choice
Negotiating the medical bill Paying the stated amount in full
5.0% 38%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 7.6× higher
family
% who regret this choice
Choosing mediation Pursuing litigation in court
15% 47%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 3.1× higher
lifestyle
% who regret this choice
Leaving a high-control religious or ideological group Staying in the high-control group
20% 52%
Inaction dominates Inaction regret 2.6× higher
Likelier publishes probability estimates for educational purposes only .
Do not use this data for medical, legal, financial, or safety decisions. Every statistic has its own uncertainty, caveats, and assumptions — click through to the source and our
methodology
before acting on any number.
See suggest
for known errors and terms
for the full disclaimer. Report issues on GitHub — we correct quickly and publicly.
Some entries cover adult topics including substance use, gambling, sexual violence, and suicide. Parental guidance is advised for young readers.
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