Daniel Pink

We think about how things could have been better.

Well, yeah, that's if only I had married Fred instead of Ed.

But with action regrets, we can do what's called a downward counterfactual.

We imagine how things could have turned out worse.

And there's some really super cool research on this.

But here's where it comes up in the database.

Legions of people, all women, saying something.

I shouldn't have married that idiot, but at least I have these two great kids.

There's a famous piece of research.

I love it.

They showed photographs of the three medalists on the Olympic medal stand in a number of different situations, but they didn't show what medal they got.

And they asked people based on their facial expressions, how happy are they?

And so not surprisingly, the happiest looking people were the gold medalists.

Second happiest people were the bronze medalists.

not the silver medalists, right?

Because the silver medalists were doing an upward counterfactual.

If only I had pedaled four tenths of a second faster, I'd have the gold.

The bronze medalists were doing a downward counterfactual.

At least I have a bronze, not like this schmo who's fourth tenths of a second behind me, who's like, doesn't get a medal at all.

And so for action regrets, we can at least them.