So, I wanted to project myself forward to age 80 and say, “Okay, now I’m looking back on my life. I want to have minimized the number of regrets I have.” I knew that when I was 80 I was not going to regret having tried this. I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal. I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. I knew that that would haunt me every day - Jeff Bezos
This one is different from our usual big posts. Yet it is arguably more beneficial than most of what you will find on the internet at this point. Around 6 months ago, we were updating the antidote to a slop collection, and one of the materials we added was Bezos’s regret minimization framework. Let’s be real. There is nothing special about that video. Neither is Bezos saying anything magical or anything you have never heard before. Much less so if you have already been consuming content similar to ours.
Or if you have read books like The 4 Hour Workweek, where Tim Ferriss did a perfect job describing how to operate and build your own version of this. Our goal here is not to put Bezos on a pedestal and claim he is a genius (he actually is...). At the same time, that video was one of those things that left us thinking about it for weeks. It was one of those experiences where you stumble upon something that is life-changing.
Yet it is so simple. And at the same time powerful. You can’t really put into words what it was, but it left a deep mark. Similar to the unwritten rules of life. Once you notice them, there is no going back. It just stays with you. When you watch something so impactful that it leaves you with deep thoughts, even if you are not sure why it hit so hard… It did for a reason. It clearly means that your subconscious picked something up that you are not even aware of. Yet. This is exactly what happened to us with the regret minimization framework.
So what has happened since then? Half a year has gone by. We made it a habit to run every big decision through a few simple questions. Yet extremely effective. All based on the Bezos regret minimization framework we already mentioned. The truth is that you basically don’t need anything other than an answer to a question - would you regret this at 80? We didn’t stop there, and we have decided to add our part to it. Similar to what we did with the original version of the mindset rewiring workbook. Today this framework is part of our daily lives. Whenever we find ourselves dealing with something where we have to decide whether it is worth the pursuit or not... It all comes down to our version of the regret minimization framework.
The questions you should ask yourself whenever you are stuck on a decision:
Will I regret this at 80?
What is the worst-case scenario of what I am about to do?
How long will it take me to recover from that worst-case scenario?
How would it look in practice?
Question: Quit my 9to5 to go full time on my business?
At 80? You would regret not trying. There is no denying it.
Worst case scenario? You fail. Your ego gets a bit hurt. You lose some money. The best part? You can try again.
Recovery? If you have been playing it right, it should not take more than 6 months to get another job and start building the safety net.
Three simple questions. No matter how silly or oversimplified they look... That is all it takes to avoid decades of unnecessary pain and self-rationalization about why you did (or didn’t) do something you should have. This is where you have to do it yourself. Next time something big comes up in your life and you are unsure about it. Run it through all three questions. Experience it yourself. That is the only way to get maximum out of this.
Reality is that we ourselves are often our own worst enemies. We know what we have to do, how we have to do it, and why we have to do it… But never do it. For one reason or another. Sometimes it is fear. Sometimes it’s uncertainty. Sometimes it’s what if? So why not remove all that friction and make your life easier? Time is limited, so it is on us to use it as best we can. With a minimal amount of regrets to look back on. Make it a habit to ask yourself what is the worst that can happen? There is a good chance that it is not that bad… So do it.
Disclaimer: None of this is legal or financial advice of any kind.