Avoid One Of The Most Common Life Regrets

Posted on February 17, 2015

Karl Pillemer, a Ph.D. gerontologist at Cornell University, has spent the last several years interviewing hundreds of older Americans to systematically collect their practical wisdom. Among other questions, he asked these oldest Americans what people tend to regret at their age, and what they would advise younger people to do to avoid regrets.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Pillemer expressed surprise at how many elders said that their greatest regret was not traveling enough.

Many believed it wasn't worth the costs; others put it off after having children; and still others decided to wait until retirement. An 81-year-old named Jack, whose wife Lynne died of cancer after they retired, shared his heart-breaking experience of realizing he had waited too long.

"We always thought we'd do a lot of traveling when we retired, you know? But then Lynne passed away, and it was too late. I went on a couple of trips and I guess they were okay, but it's less fun going alone. I took a bus through the Canadian Rockies, and I actually turned once to talk to her -- I was sitting in a seat by myself and it was beautiful, and I wanted to tell Lynne, 'Look at that light, the color, that light.' But of course she wasn't there. And I just want to share things with her when I travel, but we waited too long."

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Category(s):Happiness

Source material from Huffington Post