# Reading > Who Said That? >  I do not regret the things I've done, but those I did not do.

## Admin

or.... I regret not the things I've done, but those I did not do.

I remember reading this in a short story in highschool. It is quite a popular quote, in searching the Internet though most people have no idea where it is from or even worse think it was originally said by a character in the movie Empire Records, or by George Lucas, or various other modern day people. One place attributed it to Mark Twain, but I could find no one to confirm that with a title of the work.

Anyone have any ideas?

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## ShoutGrace

"I do not regret the things I've done, but those I did not do."
Rory Cochrane

Brainy Quote 

But it must have originated elsewhere! This site labels it's original author "unknown".

This site has the "top ten" Twain quotes and it isn't there. I'm not sure . . .

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## Logos

Supposedly Twain said "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." but I can't find a reference to where he wrote/said it.

http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/mark_twain/

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## summer grace

I do love this quote, but like many I'm not sure where it is from. I think it expresses an ideal that we have, and that lots of people can relate to. Popular quotes are always misattributed.

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## Xamonas Chegwe

Only origin of this I know is the Butthole Surfers - Sweet Loaf.




> "Daddy, what does regret mean?
> Well son, the funny thing about regret is,
> It's better to regret something you have done,
> Than to regret something you haven't done.
> And by the way, if you see your mom this weekend,
> Be sure and tell her, SATAN, SATAN, SATAN!!!"


Sampled in it's entirety by Orbital in their song Satan, and quoted by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers in Deep Kick.

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## jackyyyy

> or.... I regret not the things I've done, but those I did not do.
> 
> I remember reading this in a short story in highschool. It is quite a popular quote, in searching the Internet though most people have no idea where it is from or even worse think it was originally said by a character in the movie Empire Records, or by George Lucas, or various other modern day people. One place attributed it to Mark Twain, but I could find no one to confirm that with a title of the work.
> 
> Anyone have any ideas?


I don't have your answer, but Latin came to mind right away, possibly a proverb modernized to that. Else, gist of a piece from Homer - thats the Greek one, not the tv one, though he would have said it too  :FRlol:  .

Then, its Lucille Ball:- "I would rather regret the things that I have done, than the things that I have not".

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## kiz_paws

At this site GO HERE, they cite Rory Cochrane as the one to have said it. But further Googling led to the source "Anon". I personally thought it was Einstein that said it. But anyhow...

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## kelby_lake

i think there's a quotation like: 'The only things you will regret are the things you didn't do', which I think is a Twain quote...

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## deadandlovey

This quote is from the movie "Empire Records". I think it's the first scene.

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## Tom Dunn

Hello,
Tom Dunn here.Thank you a million times over .I think it might have been back in the 
1950's or 60's when I read a short story in the Readers digest (?).the way I recall it a woman who lived all her life in a small New England town
was elderly now and was reminiscing about her life. She regretted not encouraging that handsome class mate she liked but was too shy to talk to her-----she regretted not buying that polka dot dress she saw many times in the store window ---mother and father would not approve--
-She should have fixed her hair the way it was shown in the magazine--she could have done it very easily but it would upset mother and father

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## Tom Dunn

She regretted not marrying and having children --someone to love and care for and worry about --------this not a verbatum account but it is the gist of it and I often think of it ----thank you for the enrichment----Tom Dunn----by-the way on line go to search and put in ---Tragedy Jill Spargus---

wishing you well 
Tom Dunn

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## cafolini

I think that we regret many things we have done and many things we didn't do. But if I have to talk about what we regret the most is what we didn't do and we would do easily now if we had a second chance.

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## Buh4Bee

They just want to know where the quote came from.

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## Tom Dunn

Hi Readers Digest 1953--www.devpsy.org/non science/daisieshtmail---------Tom Dunn

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## kaethe

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

Sydney Smith (Clergyman!!!)

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## affa1904

At 53 years old 
my memory is not as good as it used to be...I've talked with my relatives, etc. and put "some" thought into it. And I I've come to the conclusion that "kaethe" hits it on the head. The quote originated in the bible. What I need to know now is where in the Bible is it written.

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## affa1904

And who said it.

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## affa1904

> Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
> 
> Sydney Smith (Clergyman!!!)


Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been."
Kurt Vonnegut

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## Demented_ideals

i don't know if you've found the answer as to where its from, but if you haven't:

" The quote belongs to H. Jackson Browns mother. See page 13 in Browns 1991 book: P.S. I Love You: When Mom Wrote, She Always Saved the Best for Last. "

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## mesolzhenitsy

Yeah!
Turkey Soviet's new-in charge of teasing SOLZHENITSOF above-agent Demented***_ideals-in Mini Statistics Join Date11-22-2016 Last Activity Yesterday 10:51 PM...He/She is there and is to be entering the "Who Said That Box" to cut in on words against Islamic Terror!

Let's read now about The Turkey Soviet-the sworn enemy of The Liberal World:
AS A FIRST STEP IN ANSWERING THE QUESTION LET'S READ TWO RANDOMLY CHOSEN SAMPLES FROM THE PRO-DEMOCRACY POEMS OF MINE:

RUBAI FOR VULTURE

North Korea or/and Turkey Vulture-League of The Second Soviet 
That
Don’t
Believe in the Unseen, GOD!

RUBAI TO CONDEMN RACIST ARMIES

Hey dirty green TURCO Islamic terrorists and red KEMALIST/Maoist fascists
Like Saddam or Milosevic 
Establish worship, and recognize what GOD sent you;
Namely love the democracy led by-presence of The EU!

AS LONG AS THE VITAL IMPORTANCE NEW CONCEPT İN "GLOBAL SECURITY" IS PERCEIVED SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH THE MAGIC FORCE OF THE STRONG PENS WE UNDERSTAND THAT "GLOBAL SOVIET" COULD BE HARMFULL FOR EVERYBODY WALKING TOWARDS THE WELLFARE AND LIBERTY IN THOUGHTS AND BELIEF.

SO I'LL BE WRITING ABOUT NEW IRON CURTAINS OF RED AND BLACK FASCISM TO BUILD OPPRESSIONS UPON THE INNOCENT KURDISH PEOPLES WHO ARE RECENTLY SUFFERING FROM THE "Guns of Islamic State" IN SYRIA AND IN TURKEY!
SO LONG....
SOLZHI!
(SOLZHENITSYN0F)

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## mesolzhenitsy

Okay? Then here you are one of the most abominable bloody agent:
Fourhtyoz 
Registered User 
This nasty crook-FOURHTYOZ is an illegal child of a TURCO-Islamic terrorist family to occupy three thread boxes to cut in on the words of SOLZHENITSOF!

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## nickfontaine

This quote was written by Atsushi Nakajima in one of his stories. I can't remember which one, but I believe it is in the collection "The Moon over the Mountain" if you want to find it!

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## mesolzhenitsy

SEE THE TURCO-ISLAMIC TERRORISTS' ONE DAY OLD AGENT AS THE OTHERS WERE FROM THE POINT OF AGE!

nickfontaine nickfontaine is offline 
Registered User 
Join Date:12-20-2016.Last Activity:

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## Kate23

It seems to me sometimes that these words exist for those who are looking for some kind of self-justification, I mean, you don't regret things you've done as long as you believe that everything that happens, happens for good. But then I start thinking of all the stuff I haven't done, and realize that I'd better do that and regret than think of the lost opportunities.

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## Michellegirl900

It's a quote from the novel "Light, wind and dreams" by Atsushi Nakajima

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## missprintindia

i think it is written by Anonymous

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## ennison

It is sensible to regret things. It helps us to learn. 
That Anonymous ! All he did was sit about being aphoristic.

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