I first came across the word “ragret” in We’re the Millers. It’s a salty movie from 2013.
Jason Sudeikis, best known for playing the titular character in Ted Lasso, plays a character who is the anti-Ted Lasso. Jennifer Aniston also plays against type, as a stripper.
It’s not for everyone. It reminds me of The Inbetweeners and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Which means I love it.
One of the characters who plays a small part in the movie is called “Scotty P”. He has one of the best tattoos in recorded history:
No ragrets?
I like this so much that I’m tempted to buy the personalised numberplate RAGRET.
(As I type this it’s still available, but if you beat me to it, no hard feelings. No ragrets, you know what I’m saying?!)
My guess is that lots of people would think I’d “ragret” buying it.
Yet somehow, it encapsulates a lot of what I think about life.
We will all have regrets. The key is to have the right ones.
The right ragrets
Most important decisions aren’t binary. There are usually a range of options, and there it’s often possible to pick a bit of option A, a bit of option B, and a bit of option E.
A lot of the time, there are several good options.
Unless you have a crystal ball, it’s usually impossible to know which option will result in the “best” outcome. There’s an element of uncertainty.
True, there are often bad decisions. But when I chat with thoughtful, switched on people, I find that they’re often agonising over multiple good choices, or “shades of right”.
Ragret = turning FOMO into JOMO
The truth is, I embrace ragret. The key isn’t avoiding regret: it’s having the right ragrets.
This applies to investing. It applies in most other domains of life, too.
