--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd rather be sorry for something I had…" description: "\"I'd rather be sorry for something I had done than for something I didn't do.\" — Kris Kristofferson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/kris-kristofferson-4931_done_i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had_1594237.jpg" --- # I'd rather be sorry for something I had done than for… ![“I'd rather be sorry for something I had done than for something I didn't do.” quote by Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/kris-kristofferson-4931_done_i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had_1594237.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/kris-kristofferson-4931_done_i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had_1594237.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/kris-kristofferson-4931_done_i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had_1594237.jpg) > “I'd rather be sorry for something I had done than for something I didn't do.” [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Regret over inaction outweighs regret over action; better to try and fail. **In simple terms:** Act, even if it fails. Key Takeaway Choose action over inaction. Themes courage decision making life philosophy Mood motivational reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - relationships - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts regret theory risk taking Questions to Reflect On - What would you try if fear vanished? - How do you handle failure? A Different Perspective May ignore consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Sorry Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry-didn-1391857/) ## Related quotes > [“Sorry, I didn't know..." I trailed off. Shout out to all the girls who apologize too much. I feel you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emiko-jean/sorry-i-didn-t-know-i-trailed-off-shout-out-to-all-the-girls-who/) [Emiko Jean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emiko-jean/) > [You tell me that you need me then you go and cut me down, but wait. You tell me that you're sorry didn't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-republic/you-tell-me-that-you-need-me-then-you-go-and-cut-me-down-but-wait-you/) [One Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-republic/) > [“..:Don't be sorry if things don't work out after giving it your very best time after time. Be sorry that you didn't even try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-garcia/don-t-be-sorry-if-things-don-t-work-out-after-giving-it-your-very/) [Rafael Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-garcia/) > [“Sorry. Didn't mean to step on any dead toes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-mccoy/sorry-didn-t-mean-to-step-on-any-dead-toes/) [J.L. McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-mccoy/) > [I'm sorry… I didn't realize that you're an expert on my life and how I should Live it! Please, continue while I take notes…………](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul/i-m-sorry-i-didn-t-realize-that-you-re-an-expert-on-my-life-and-how-i/) [Rahul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul/) > [Sorry you didn't meet my ridiculously low standards...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sorry-you-didn-t-meet-my-ridiculously-low-standards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In principle, I'm sorry that we didn't liquidate him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/in-principle-i-m-sorry-that-we-didn-t-liquidate-him/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were an expert on my life and how I should live it. Please continue while I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/oh-i-m-sorry-i-didn-t-realize-you-were-an-expert-on-my-life-and-how-i/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [I'm not sorry because I left you, I'm sorry that you didn't respect me as you should have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-church/i-m-not-sorry-because-i-left-you-i-m-sorry-that-you-didn-t-respect-me/) [Austin Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-church/) > [I'm sorry. I didn't know you were coming or I'd have cleaned up a little more. My life, I mean, not just the apartment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-m-sorry-i-didn-t-know-you-were-coming-or-i-d-have-cleaned-up-a/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“I'm sorry I didn't tell you I loved you when I knew I did. Most of all I'm sorry I gave up on us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-bass/i-m-sorry-i-didn-t-tell-you-i-loved-you-when-i-knew-i-did-most-of-all/) [Chuck Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-bass/) > [“Sorry, I didn't see the big X with the words Top Secret Government Laboratory on the map, did you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/sorry-i-didn-t-see-the-big-x-with-the-words-top-secret-government/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [I'm sorry it didn't work out. I'm moving on. I'm sorry, its over now. The pain is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-sorry-it-didn-t-work-out-i-m-moving-on-i-m-sorry-its-over-now-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sorry, I didn't pay attention. Sorry,I couldn't read your mind. Sorry,I didn't know what were you about to do. Sorry,Sorry,Sorry. I cant predicted everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/sorry-i-didn-t-pay-attention-sorry-i-couldn-t-read-your-mind-sorry-i/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a dickhead. Well, I did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/i-m-sorry-i-didn-t-mean-to-be-a-dickhead-well-i-did/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) ## More by Kris Kristofferson > [I'll probably be writing as long as I'm breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-ll-probably-be-writing-as-long-as-i-m-breathing/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [That's who I wanted to be like was Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/that-s-who-i-wanted-to-be-like-was-bob-dylan/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Just remember that William Blake wasn't even published in his lifetime. Ya gotta keep creating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/just-remember-that-william-blake-wasn-t-even-published-in-his/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist's eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/peter-cooper-looks-at-the-world-with-an-artist-s-eye-and-a-human/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Freedom is just another word: It seems to get truer the older I get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/freedom-is-just-another-word-it-seems-to-get-truer-the-older-i-get/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [What really makes me happy now is my home. I know that I have that to lose. But I don't see losing it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/what-really-makes-me-happy-now-is-my-home-i-know-that-i-have-that-to/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [I turned 30 as a janitor. I was thinking at the time that Hank Williams died when he was 29. All my peers were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-turned-30-as-a-janitor-i-was-thinking-at-the-time-that-hank/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [There are points in your life, especially if you have creative ambitions, where selfishness is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/there-are-points-in-your-life-especially-if-you-have-creative/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [I always had to wait until something hit me, and I could write it. But when I would cut an album, to me it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-always-had-to-wait-until-something-hit-me-and-i-could-write-it-but/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [The older I get, the less conservative I become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/the-older-i-get-the-less-conservative-i-become/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [I wish my memory weren't so bad. They tell me it's from all the football and boxing and the concussions that I got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-wish-my-memory-weren-t-so-bad-they-tell-me-it-s-from-all-the/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Never's just the echo of forever, lonesome as a love that might have been. Let me go on lovin' and believin' 'til it's over.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/never-s-just-the-echo-of-forever-lonesome-as-a-love-that-might-have/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [I feel like an old boxer. The brain's gone, but I can still move around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-feel-like-an-old-boxer-the-brain-s-gone-but-i-can-still-move-around/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Being in love with a lot of people is incompatible with a stable family life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/being-in-love-with-a-lot-of-people-is-incompatible-with-a-stable/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [The closest Ive come to knowing myself is in losing myself. Thats why I loved football before I loved music. I could lose myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/the-closest-ive-come-to-knowing-myself-is-in-losing-myself-thats-why/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) [Explore all 105 Kris Kristofferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) ## More Done quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua/i-don-t-enjoy-killing-but-when-done-righteously-it-s-just-a-chore/) [Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua/) > [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) [Browse all 25,653 Done quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd rather be sorry for something I had done than for something I didn't do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kris Kristofferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had-done-than-for-something-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Done" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had-done-than-for-something-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/kris-kristofferson-4931_done_i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had_1594237.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/kris-kristofferson-4931_done_i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had_1594237.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/kris-kristofferson-4931_done_i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had_1594237.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd rather be sorry for something I had done than for something I didn't do.” — Kris Kristofferson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kris Kristofferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'd rather be sorry for something...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had-done-than-for-something-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-d-rather-be-sorry-for-something-i-had-done-than-for-something-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```