--- ---  # 5 Secrets to Dealing With Regret, According to Research by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 16, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Two male friends jumping off dock into lake in mid air Two male friends jumping off dock into lake in mid airGetty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 16, 2015 4:01 AM UTC 1) We regret things [we should have done but didn’t do](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-we-regret-the-most). The areas that top the list are [education, career and romance](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-we-regret-most-why). Not spending enough time with friends and family is [up there too](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-we-most-likely-to-regret?). The dying had [these regrets](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-people-regret-the-most-before-they-di): --- > “” --- 2) [Setting ambitious goals instead of conservative ones](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/will-you-be-happier-if-you-set-ambitious-goal) leads to more satisfaction later. 3) We’re more likely to regret purchasing things. We’re more likely to regret [**not** purchasing experiences](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-we-regret-buying-what-do-we-regret-no). 4) You can reduce regret by [comparing yourself to those less fortunate rather those more accomplished than yourself.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-reduce-regret) 5) [Studies show we consistently overestimate how regret affects us](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-we-work-too-hard-to-avoid-regret). We anticipate regret will be much more painful than it actually is. **Join over 180,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/5-ways-to-deal-with-regret/)**_._** Related posts: [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) [The 8 Things The Happiest People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/happiest-people/) [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) Just Do What You 'Should' Do and Avoid Regrets ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3860091/should-motivation-avoid-regret/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3860091/should-motivation-avoid-regret/"},"headline":"5 Secrets to Dealing With Regret, According to Research","datePublished":"2015-05-16T04:01:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:26:10.199Z","description":"1) We regret things we should have done but didn’t do. The areas that top the list are education, career and romance. Not spending enough...","url":"https://time.com/3860091/should-motivation-avoid-regret/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1b89cb2b7fd970c/6987efdca988cafe2f6b0a92/94283001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1b89cb2b7fd970c/6987efdca988cafe2f6b0a92/94283001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"men-jumping-into-water","caption":"men-jumping-into-water","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3860091/should-motivation-avoid-regret/","name":"5 Secrets to Dealing With Regret, According to Research"}}]}] ```