September 25, 2022
Daniel Pink’s book, “The Power of Regret” is a gold mine of great thoughts and ideas. Here are a final few, in random order. (Please find a copy of the book for yourself!)
Disappointment happens when a result is not my responsibility. (My favorite team lost the game.) However, regret is the feeling of the coach whose strategies caused his team to lose the game.)
Pink’s distinction between “at least” and “if only” is on Page 37
If we think that feeling is for ignoring (delusion), or feeling is for feeling (despair) then we will miss that feeling needs to be for thinking. And thinking is for understanding and doing better.
“Burying negative emotions doesn’t dissipate them. It intensifies them and the contaminants leach into the ground soil of our lives.”
“Repetitive thought can worsen regret and regret can exacerbate repetitive thought, creating a descending spiral of pain. Ruminating does not clarify and instruct. It muddies and distracts.”
He says that the engine powering regret is storytelling. He quotes a psychologist, Daniel McAdams: “People with narratives rooted in redemption are generally more satisfied and accomplished, and they rate their lives as meaningful.”
My final thoughts:
As a follower of Christ, and part of God’s redemptive story, my response to regret is to ask for God’s forgiveness. And then to ask Him for His wisdom to make better choices, while seeing what good He will bring out of my poor ones.
A narrative rooted in Redemption.
