Brain Food #653
A glimpse into the future
Thoughts of the day
Karl Pillemer, a gerontologist at Cornell University, interviewed 1,500 people over the age of 65 about the things they would have changed if they could turn back the clock.
If success is having ‘fewer and fewer regrets’, then taking a look at the regrets of others - in a way, taking a glimpse into the future - may help us identify which ones strike more deeply.
The most popular sources of regret cited were:
Not being careful enough when choosing a life partner
Not resolving a family estrangement
Putting off saying how you feel
Not travelling enough
Spending too much time worrying
Not being honest
Not taking enough career chances
Not taking care of your body
With number 5, which may be the most popular one across the board, Manuel, 72, has the answer:
“You have to be flexible; don’t get locked into one frame of mind over anything. And probably the most important thing is, ninety-five percent of all the things I worried about never happened.”
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