Goal: Less regrets, more results.
The ultimate act of agency in this world is what we choose.
We make over 35,000 decisions every day on average, yet, over 90% of adults have deep or existential regrets about their life decisions.
The goal is to mitigate the level of regret we feel in our life, constituting an effective decision-making framework.
This is the one that has worked for me:
Once you’re faced with a decision…
1 - Choose your regrets.
Begin with the regrets and work backwards.
Look at the alternative, the opportunity cost.
Opportunity cost is baked into life. We cannot split-test life, so we must make decisions between our options. Inherently in this, there is an opportunity cost.
You can go to the gym or you can go to the amusement park. Even though the gym might be the “right” answer, you will always have an open loop of “well what if I would have gone to the amusement park?”
So no matter what, we will have regrets to some degree, but how do we turn this into helping us make a decision? I love this framework from Chris Williamson:
“If regrets are inevitable, if they're going to happen no matter what, an easy way to look at the decision is rather than “which do I want to do?”, [think] “which regret could I live with?” because there are certain regrets that you can't bear living with.”
— Chris Williamson (Modern Wisdom Episode 670)
Ask yourself “which regret could I bear living with?” After doing so, you likely will have an inkling that you are leaning towards. That’s crucial information and you must follow this. Ignoring this out of fear will only lead to further regret.
Tip: If you feel fearful towards taking this action, complete this Fear Setting guide by Tim Ferriss.
Taking control of your regrets and consciously choosing which ones you wish to live with completely reframes your thinking.
You are in control of how you feel about your life.
Choose your regrets instead of letting them choose you.
Revision: November 26, 2025
I wanted to add in here that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes continuing what you are doing now is the most correct option. Do not confuse excitement with correctness. Some of the best decisions are the ones that you don’t necessarily want to do in the moment. This is becoming increasingly difficult in the age of a dopamine-addled society. The solution is to consciously weigh (1) the downsides of action vs (2) the downsides of inaction. There is a price you pay when you take action, but it’s rarely considered within this regret formulation since most regrets are in the face of inaction rather than action.
“When you make big life decisions, don’t listen to the people closest to you, listen to the people closest to your goals.”
— Alex Hormozi
At this stage of the decision-making process, you are likely fielding advice from those around you. During this, remember to be mindful of who you are listening to.
Ben Navarro advice was to “only take advice from those who are in the arena,” referencing President Theodore Roosevelt’s speech “The Man in the Arena”.
The “Arena” could be wildly different depending on the topic. To Ben, being in the arena means trying to be a better person every day, striving to achieve greatness, and truly pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.
Those are the people you want to take advice from. Anyone else is just noise.
So, at this point you have an idea of what you’re leaning towards based on which regret you would rather live with. You also have hopefully listened to the correct people around you to help you increase your certainty.
Step #1 Takeaway:
Look at your decisions through the lens of which regret you would rather live with. Listen to those in the arena.
Once you’ve decided which regret you would rather live with…
2 - Get to 51%.
“You don’t have to get to 100% certainty on your big decisions, get to 51%, and when you get there, make the decision and be at peace with the fact that you made the decision based on the information you had”
— Barack Obama
Be prudent, do your due diligence, but don’t over-analyze.
“You’ll never have 100% conviction and you’ll make your employees furious if you demand it,” remarked former U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael T. Moseley, “Get to 60-70% and be willing to risk the remaining 30%.”
Over-analyzing leads to never making a decision. This indecision proves to be incorrect over an extended time frame.
You are choosing to fail if you never make a choice.
The trick is to get above 50% and make the decision. Be willing to risk the remainder.
Step #2 Takeaway:
Don’t overanalyze. Get to a confident level and make the decision.
Once you’ve made your decision…
3 - It’s all about execution.
“It’s not about making the right decision,
just pick a decision and make it right”.
— Eric Cox
There’s no right or wrong decision, just different opportunities. Everything goes back to execution. Simply picking a decision doesn’t inherently solidify its verdict. You could pick the right decision, but not execute, and it becomes wrong.
“To know but not do,” according to Martin Mucci, “is to not know”. Planning is just procrastinating unless you execute on the plan.
The solution is to pick a decision and go make it right. The execution will determine its verdict.
“Put your all behind it and sleep well knowing that you tried your best.”
— Alison Riske
Step #3 Takeaway:
Focus on the execution of the decision, rather than the decision itself.
So, the next time you have a big decision, follow this framework:
1. Choose your regrets. Ask yourself “Which regret would I rather live with?” Only take advice from people in the arena.
2. Get to 51% and make the decision. Indecision proves to be incorrect over the long-term. Be willing to risk the remaining 49%.
3. Focus on execution. There is no “right” or “wrong” decision. A decision is a choice between two opportunities. Pick one and make it “right”.
Combining those 3 steps will hopefully lead to less regrets and more satisfaction.