I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.

The line expresses a preference for action over hesitation: mistakes made in pursuit of experience are seen as more tolerable than the lingering, untestable remorse of missed chances. It frames regret as inevitable but argues that agency—choosing, trying, risking—produces a more honest life narrative than self-protective inaction. In popular culture the sentiment is often attached to entertainers and entrepreneurs as a credo of boldness, aligning with a broader 20th‑century American ethos that prizes initiative and self-determination. Even when outcomes are imperfect, the quote suggests that lived experience yields learning and closure, while inaction leaves only speculation.