What Daniel Pink has said about Regret
3 quotes · 1 episode · May 25, 2026
Daniel Pink, American author who led a large study on regret, has been quoted on Regret 3 times in 1 episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, most recently on May 25, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.
In their words
Pink argues that nearly everyone has regrets, with exceptions being young children, some people with neurodegenerative disorders, and sociopaths.
“The only people who don't have regrets are little kids because their brains haven't developed the cognitive capacity to do it”
The Mel Robbins Podcast: What Makes a Good Life? This Study on 26,000 Regrets Will Guide You for the Rest of Your Life (May 25, 2026) · Listen from 6:44
Pink distinguishes regret from disappointment by saying regret requires personal agency.
“And so regret has to have agency. It's something that you did. You can't regret something someone else did”
The Mel Robbins Podcast: What Makes a Good Life? This Study on 26,000 Regrets Will Guide You for the Rest of Your Life (May 25, 2026) · Listen from 13:11
Pink cites negotiation research showing that people who reflect on regrets perform better in subsequent negotiations.
“The researchers say, tell me what you regret doing or not doing in that negotiation. So they invite the bad emotion. Then they go to a next negotiation. They do better”
The Mel Robbins Podcast: What Makes a Good Life? This Study on 26,000 Regrets Will Guide You for the Rest of Your Life (May 25, 2026) · Listen from 17:16
Episodes
What Makes a Good Life? This Study on 26,000 Regrets Will Guide You for the Rest of Your LifeThe Mel Robbins Podcast · May 25, 2026 · 1 h 10 min
Mel Robbins and author Daniel Pink discuss the World Regret Survey, the four core types of regret, and a three-step method for learning from regret.
Others on Regret
- Gary Vaynerchuk · 2 quotes
- Sylvester Stallone · 1 quote
- Kristen · 1 quote
- Mel Robbins · 1 quote
Daniel Pink on other topics
- Boldness regrets · 2 quotes
- Connection regrets · 2 quotes
- Self-compassion · 2 quotes
- World Regret Survey · 2 quotes
- Expressive writing · 1 quote
- Moral regrets · 1 quote
- Counterfactual thinking · 1 quote
- Spotlight effect · 1 quote