Top 5 Career Regrets – Don’t let it be you

The HBR blog has a great post from tech entrepreneur Daniel Gulati outlining the findings of his research into career regrets.  I’m sure we all recognise them, even if we haven’t ever  fallen prey to any:

1. I wish I hadn’t taken the job for the money
2. I wish I had quit earlier
3. I wish I had the confidence to start my own business
4. I wish I had used my time at school more productively
5. I wish I had acted on my career hunches.

Gulati also points at some related research and I particularly like this:

As famed psychologist Dr. Neal Roese recently stated, “On average, regret is a helpful emotion.” It can even be an inspiring one. But it means that we must articulate and celebrate our disappointments, understanding that it’s our capacity to experience regret deeply, and learn from it constructively to ultimately frame our future success.

In other words, learn from your mistakes and move on.