Regret Simulator
Compare action vs. inaction regret across 1, 5, and 10-year horizons. Fear fades. Regret grows.
How the math works
A well-documented pattern in psychological research on regret: regret over things people did tends to fade with time as the real outcome gets processed and integrated, while regret over things they didn't do tends to persist or even grow, since the "what if" is never resolved with real information. The model applies exponential decay to action regret and exponential growth to inaction regret across your chosen time horizon (1, 5, or 10 years), then discounts your current fear — since anticipated fear about a decision is commonly more intense than how it actually feels afterward, even in the worst case.
The verdict compares your fear-adjusted action regret against your inaction regret at each horizon — it's one input to reflect on, not a complete decision framework on its own.
Where this doesn't apply
- Genuinely severe, irreversible worst-case outcomes shouldn't be discounted just because regret over ordinary actions typically fades.
- This models a general psychological tendency, not a guarantee for your specific situation or decision.
- Choosing not to act after real, careful consideration is different from avoiding a decision purely out of fear — the model is most useful for the second case.