Many of us have made a juggling choice that, in retrospect, we regret. In my bid to banish mommy guilt, I try to take those cringe-worthy decisions in stride and chalk them up to a learning experience. But there is one regret I can't shake, one that predates mommyhood: skipping grad school.
我们当中很多人都做出过非常纠结的选择，回头观之，往往心生悔意。在试图摆脱"母亲负疚感"(mommy guilt)时，我尽量轻松地面对曾经做出的那些令我难为情的决定，并将其视为学习的经历。但是有一种懊悔总让我挥之不去，那是在我做母亲之前发生的：放弃读研究生。
Why didn't I go back to school in the B.C. (before children) era? For one, I always felt there could be a better time: I'd go back part time after the move, after I settled into the new job, once I had a shorter commute. In hindsight, all of these reasons seem trite and pale in comparison to my current situation: two kids under three, a crazy commute, a new job, and a beloved husband who deserve some of my attention, too! I had always intended on going back to school and regret not taking the time to do so when I had so much less to juggle.
我为什么没在孩子出生前重返校园？一个理由是，我总感觉会有更好的时机，比如生了孩子以后回去做兼职学生，适应了新工作后再去上学，或者是等到离学校近些的时候......事后想来，这些理由跟我目前的状况比起来都那么苍白无力、不值一提。我现在有两个不足3岁的孩子，上下班要花超级长的时间，刚刚有了一份新工作，还有一个我深爱的丈夫，而他也要分掉我一部分的精力！我一直都打算回学校上学，现在非常后悔没有在不那么忙的时候这么做。
Most people, however, cite a misstep in the love department as their biggest regret, according to a recent study from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
根据美国西北大学凯洛格商学院（Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management）和伊利诺伊大学厄本纳-香槟分校（University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign）最近公布的一份调查报告显示，多数人认为最让他们懊悔的是在情事上行差踏错。
The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, called 370 adult Americans at random and asked them to report one salient regret in life. Men were more likely to mention a work regret, whereas women were more likely to mention a regret related to love. Nevertheless, when all were combined, regrets involving romance were the most common (18%), followed by family (16%), education (13%), career (12%), finance (10%) and parenting (9%).
这份报告刊登在了《社会心理和人格科学》（Social Psychological and Personality Science）杂志上。在调查过程中，研究人员给随机选取的370名成年人打电话，请他们说出一件生活中最令他们痛心疾首的事。男性提到的多半是工作中的事，而女性提到的则多半与爱情相关。不过，如果合并起来看，涉及浪漫史的后悔事最为常见（占18%），其次是家庭（16%）、教育（13%）、事业（12%）、财务（10%）和育子（9%）。
People who regretted events or decisions that they didn't act on tended to hold onto the regret longer than individuals who acted on their choices (which they regretted), but went on to regret the outcomes, too.
那些后悔没有做某些事，或是后悔做了决定却没采取行动的人，不但他们的悔意比后悔就自己的选择采取了行动的人持续得更久，而且还会继续对没有采取行动带来的后果感到懊悔。
It's also interesting to note that women had more family regrets than men while men had more education regrets than women. Does this sound like a typical situation among your friends and family?
有意思的是，女性在家庭上的后悔事多过男性，而男性在教育方面的后悔事多过女性。你的朋友或家人是不是也是这种情形呢？
Readers, what is your biggest regret? Do you think your gender plays into what regrets you have, or what regrets you are willing to admit to?
读者们，最令你感到后悔的事是什么呢？你认为你后悔什么事或者你愿意承认哪些后悔事跟你的性别有关系吗？
Michelle Gerdes
Michelle Gerdes
- learning [´lə:niŋ]
n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词) - comparison [kəm´pærisən] n.比较；对照；比喻 (初中英语单词)
- beloved [bi´lʌvd] a.为....所爱的 n.爱人 (初中英语单词)
- deserve [di´zə:v] v.应受；值得 (初中英语单词)
- management [´mænidʒmənt] n.管理；处理；经营 (初中英语单词)
- illinois [,ili´nɔi] n.伊利诺斯 (初中英语单词)
- journal [´dʒə:nəl] n.日记；日报；杂志 (初中英语单词)
- personality [,pə:sə´næliti] n.人；个性；人品；人物 (初中英语单词)
- whereas [weər´æz] conj.鉴于；因此；而 (初中英语单词)
- nevertheless [,nevəðə´les] conj.&ad.然而；不过 (初中英语单词)
- romance [rəu´mæns] n.中世纪骑士小说 (初中英语单词)
- career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)
- finance [´fainæns] n.财政；金融 vt.资助 (初中英语单词)
- willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
- banish [´bæniʃ] vt.流放；消除(顾虑等) (高中英语单词)
- stride [straid] n.进展 v.跨过；骑 (高中英语单词)
- random [´rændəm] n.偶然的行动 (高中英语单词)
- related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)
- typical [´tipikəl] a.典型的；象征的 (高中英语单词)
- northwestern [,nɔ:θ´westən] a.西北的；自西北的 (英语四级单词)
- psychological [,saikə´lɔdʒikəl] a.心理学(上)的 (英语四级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
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