Name: Don't regret regret
Uploaded: 2011-12-02T15:50:10Z
Duration: 16 min 34 s
Description: We're taught to try to live life without regret. But why? Using her own tattoo as an example, Kathryn Schulz makes a powerful and moving case for embracing our regrets.

We're taught to try to live life without regret. But why? Using her own tattoo as an example, Kathryn Schulz makes a powerful and moving case for embracing our regrets.

Don't regret regret

Regret is often seen as a weakness, but it is a vital part of being human. After getting a tattoo she instantly disliked, one person discovered that regret is universal—17 percent of Americans with tattoos wish they had chosen differently. Real regret signals our values and capacity to imagine better outcomes. Rather than striving for a life without regret, learning to accept and grow from it leads to greater compassion and self-forgiveness.