--- title: Just Do What You 'Should' Do and Avoid Regrets 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... canonical: https://time.com/3860091/should-motivation-avoid-regret/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-16T04:01:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:26:10.199Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 5 Secrets to Dealing With Regret, According to Research og:description: Just do it og:url: https://time.com/3860091/should-motivation-avoid-regret/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1b89cb2b7fd970c/6987efdca988cafe2f6b0a92/94283001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=477&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 477 og:image:height: 268 og:image:alt: men-jumping-into-water og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Secrets to Dealing With Regret, According to Research twitter:description: Just do it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1b89cb2b7fd970c/6987efdca988cafe2f6b0a92/94283001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=477&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Secrets to Dealing With Regret, According to Research > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. 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 air Getty 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/) ```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. 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