The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward
“The world needs this book.” — New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown
An instant New York Times bestseller
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and Financial Times
From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of When and Drive, a new book about the transforming power of our most misunderstood yet potentially most valuable emotion: regret.
Everybody has regrets, Daniel H. Pink explains in The Power of Regret. They’re a universal and healthy part of being human. And understanding how regret works can help us make smarter decisions, perform better at work and school, and bring greater meaning to our lives.
Drawing on research in social psychology, neuroscience, and biology, Pink debunks the myth of the “no regrets” philosophy of life. And using the largest sampling of American attitudes about regret ever conducted as well as his own World Regret Survey—which has collected regrets from more than 15,000 people in 105 countries—he lays out the four core regrets that each of us has. These deep regrets offer compelling insights into how we live and how we can find a better path forward.
As he did in his bestsellers Drive, When, and A Whole New Mind, Pink lays out a dynamic new way of thinking about regret and frames his ideas in ways that are clear, accessible, and pragmatic. Packed with true stories of people's regrets as well as practical takeaways for reimagining regret as a positive force, The Power of Regret shows how we can live richer, more engaged lives.
An instant New York Times bestseller
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and Financial Times
From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of When and Drive, a new book about the transforming power of our most misunderstood yet potentially most valuable emotion: regret.
Everybody has regrets, Daniel H. Pink explains in The Power of Regret. They’re a universal and healthy part of being human. And understanding how regret works can help us make smarter decisions, perform better at work and school, and bring greater meaning to our lives.
Drawing on research in social psychology, neuroscience, and biology, Pink debunks the myth of the “no regrets” philosophy of life. And using the largest sampling of American attitudes about regret ever conducted as well as his own World Regret Survey—which has collected regrets from more than 15,000 people in 105 countries—he lays out the four core regrets that each of us has. These deep regrets offer compelling insights into how we live and how we can find a better path forward.
As he did in his bestsellers Drive, When, and A Whole New Mind, Pink lays out a dynamic new way of thinking about regret and frames his ideas in ways that are clear, accessible, and pragmatic. Packed with true stories of people's regrets as well as practical takeaways for reimagining regret as a positive force, The Power of Regret shows how we can live richer, more engaged lives.
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Community Reviews
The author is very clear that regret should lead us to evaluate our actions and to try to do things differently if we have the chance next time with the things we regret. I noticed also in the middle of the book he says that for some people regret leads to rumination which causes anxiety and depression, but then he doesn't say what to do about that. The author also spends a lot of time talking about the different types of regret such as foundation regrets, moral regrets, boldness regrets, connection regrets.
This book was somewhat repetitive and spent a lot of time talking about the world research survey that Dr.Pink did and is ongoing at worldregretsurvey.com.
I do like the idea in the last section of the book that talks about having self compassion when you make mistakes. None of us is perfect and we all make mistakes. Sometimes people are kinder to a stranger than they are to themselves. Beating yourself up rarely makes you want to do something better or is motivational.
Overall, I don't regret reading this book.
This book was somewhat repetitive and spent a lot of time talking about the world research survey that Dr.Pink did and is ongoing at worldregretsurvey.com.
I do like the idea in the last section of the book that talks about having self compassion when you make mistakes. None of us is perfect and we all make mistakes. Sometimes people are kinder to a stranger than they are to themselves. Beating yourself up rarely makes you want to do something better or is motivational.
Overall, I don't regret reading this book.
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