Regret patterns

The choices we regret.

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

201 decisions

27% regret acting

33% regret waiting

Health

Quitting smoking

% who regret this choice

Quitting smokingContinuing to smoke

1.0%90%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 90.0× higher

Financial

Keep gambling vs quit

% who regret this choice

Continuing to gambleQuitting / sustained abstinence

85%8.0%

Action dominates

Action regret 10.6× 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

Regular drinking

% who regret this choice

Drinking alcoholAbstaining from alcohol

70%12%

Action dominates

Action regret 5.8× higher

Financial

Appeal vs accept

% who regret this choice

Appealing the court rulingAccepting the original ruling without appeal

86%30%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.9× 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

Financial

Disability insurance

% who regret this choice

Buying disability income insuranceGoing without disability income insurance

28%80%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.9× 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

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

family

Family estrangement

% who regret this choice

Cutting off contactMaintaining the relationship

20%67%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.4× higher

Health

Exercise habits

% who regret this choice

Exercising regularlyStaying sedentary

5.0%52%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 10.4× higher

family

Take paternity leave vs. skip it

% who regret this choice

Taking full paternity leaveReturning to work within two weeks of birth

13%59%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.5× higher

lifestyle

Initiating reconciliation

% who regret this choice

Reaching out to reconcileLetting the relationship lapse

12%57%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.8× higher

lifestyle

Stop driving in old age

% who regret this choice

Stop driving (voluntary cessation)Continue driving

65%20%

Action dominates

Action 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

career

Salary negotiation

% who regret this choice

Negotiating salaryAccepting without negotiating

13%57%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.4× higher

Health

Alt-only vs. conventional cancer

% 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

AI-written schoolwork

% who regret this choice

Using AI to write the assignmentWriting it yourself

60%18%

Action dominates

Action regret 3.3× higher

Financial

Home renovation

% who regret this choice

RenovatingLeaving as is

74%32%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.3× higher

lifestyle

Protest vs silence

% who regret this choice

Participating in public protestStaying silent during injustice

12%53%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 4.4× 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

Admit serious mistake vs. cover up

% who regret this choice

Admitting the serious mistake openlyConcealing or deflecting the serious mistake

14%51%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.6× 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

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

Financial

Estate planning now vs. later

% who regret this choice

Creating a will and estate plan while healthyDelaying estate planning until a crisis

6.0%42%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 7.0× 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

Korea: civil service vs. private sector

% who regret this choice

Entering civil serviceChoosing the private sector

58%22%

Action dominates

Action regret 2.6× 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

lifestyle

Venezuela: leave vs. stay in crisis

% who regret this choice

Emigrating from VenezuelaStaying in Venezuela during the crisis

26%61%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.3× 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

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

Financial

Medical bill negotiation

% who regret this choice

Negotiating the medical billPaying the stated amount in full

5.0%38%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 7.6× higher

family

Family mediation vs litigation

% who regret this choice

Choosing mediationPursuing litigation in court

15%47%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 3.1× 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%52%

Inaction dominates

Inaction regret 2.6× higher