The Power of Regret

How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward

By: Daniel H. Pink

Narrated by: Daniel H. Pink, Gisela Chipe, Edward Hong, Hillary Huber, Sarah Palmero, Alejandro Ruiz, Fred Sanders, Neil Shah, Jade Wheeler, Nancy Wu

Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

“The world needs this book.” —Brené Brown, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Dare to Lead and Atlas of the Heart

An instant New York Times bestseller

As featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post

Named a Best Book of 2022 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.

©2022 Daniel H. Pink (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Daniel Pink reclaims regret as an indispensable emotion and explains how to use it to make better decisions, perform better at work or school and bring greater meaning to your life. His well-known, user-friendly style, chock-full of moving stories, will have you looking at regret as something that doesn’t just make us human, but also makes us better.” —The Wall Street Journal

“The Power of Regret dives deep into the research behind the 'most misunderstood' emotion and brings it to life through accessible human storytelling.” —Forbes

“Regret could be overdue for its own rebranding. … [A] look back might be the way to move forward. We might find lessons lurking in moments we’ve pushed from the light. Regret has long been considered a sign of weakness, but what if we saw it as a strength?” —The Washington Post

Highly recommended

Gave me a good perspective about how regrets can be leveraged as a positive thing. We all make countless small and big mistakes in life and being armed with Pink’s mental framework will improve future behaviors.

Life changing!

Life changing! Challenges what I always believed! Mr Pink clearly makes his case with examples

Well reasoned and thoughtful

My favorite by Daniel Pink so far and by far. I found the audiobook very easy to follow and highly enjoyable.

You would regret NOT reading this

This book supports the notion that introspection can be a game changer when lessons are applied to support better decision making. I really appreciate the anecdotes that reinforce how common of an emotion regrets can be as well as how much agency we have over how we learn from regret.

Great exploration of this ubiquitous emotion

I liked the exploration and ultimate categorization of regret based on research and a longitudinal survey. I have a tangible path forward when it comes to this backwards-looking phenomenon.

Daniel Pink makes you think

Another great study of human behavior written in a way that makes learning fun. Pink is a very great author.

Regret is Human

Though it seems innately human, regret is tough. But it is, nevertheless, part of the human experience. If we did not experience it would we get “better”? Daniel Pink brings to light many ‘ah ha’ moments for me, but I already knew these things. He does give some ideas on how to mitigate the negative effects of regret. If it’s something big, go into the future and see how you may regret it. If it’s something small, like a microwave purchase, choose and move on. No reason to dwell.

Wonderful!

I love the book. Not only it gives you a clear understanding of regret and how powerful it can be. It also gives you practical ideas on how to deal with it and use it to move forward in life. Thank you!

straightforward, useful discussion

as always, Pink distills rivers of research into a succinct analysis, and couples it with easy recommendations for how to make good use of the science to improve one's life. nice use of other voices, reading from the results of the Regret Survey.

another gem from Pink

I've read all his books, and this one is another classic. really gets you thinking on past events in your life that have shaped your future