MediumAbstract

"I am the emotion that lives permanently in the past. I change nothing yet I am one of the strongest motivators. The things that cause me most are usually the things we did not do. What am I?"

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Take a moment to ponder before you face the answer...

Answer

Regret

Explanation

Regret is the wish that a past decision had been different. Despite being retrospective and changing nothing, it motivates future behaviour. Research consistently shows that people regret things they did not do — missed opportunities — more than things they did.

This is a medium riddle in the Abstract category — Riddles about ideas, emotions, and intangible things.

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Tags:emotionsabstractphilosophy