"I wish that I were more successful…"
"If only I had gotten my CFA…"
"I should have gone independent…"
"I wish that I could spend more time with my family…"
"Where would I be today if I had been a better leader…?"
"If only I had been super-bullish two years ago…"
If you are a financial advisor who spends time thinking about “missed” opportunities, you are in good company. Many of us daydream about what might have been.
Here’s what is really interesting about these regrets:
Regret has been defined as a negative emotion that is based upon a self-focused, contrary-to-facts inference. Regret feels bad because it implies a fault in personal action. You feel that you should have done it differently, therefore self-blame is a big component of regret.
The Opportunity Principle
What is really, really interesting is that...opportunity breeds regret! Feelings of disappointment are strongest when the chances for corrective action are clearest. Counter-intuitively, regret persists in precisely those situations where the possibility of corrective action is high. Moreover, regret often initiates corrective action because individuals are more likely to undertake forward-looking steps when they believe that it will lead to probable, effective change.
Neal Roese, Ph.D., is one of the leading researchers on the subject of regret and contrary-to-the-facts thinking. In his book, “If Only…”, he sketches simple strategies to manage your life and turn your regrets into opportunities:
The beauty about being a financial advisor is that you are in a career of virtually infinite second chances for self-improvement and betterment. What other profession offers the freedom to re-frame who you are, and to achieve what you want? What other calling allows you to work as long as you are of healthy body and brain?
It’s never too late.
Do it.