If you look at an addict, for example an alcoholic, they’re not an alcoholic because they don’t regret being an alcoholic, they’re an alcoholic because they can’t help it.

Obviously, none of that helps you recover – it doesn’t even help you change your behaviour. The end result of that is that you always yearn for a better version of you, which leads to regret. It’s the nature and tone of the time and this hyper consumerist world we live in which we’re constantly told to be better, look better and to self-improve. I used to regret going to Ibiza and living an unhealthy life, I regretted taking drugs, I regretted drinking too much, I regretted not getting enough sleep. I used to regret that I’d given up piano at a young age because I didn’t think it was the sort of thing that teenage boys do. In the early days of my writing career, when my work hadn’t taken off and no one had heard of me, I used to continually regret the path I’d chosen. My depression used to be characterised by what ifs. Here, the award-winning author shares his insights on why we need to stop striving to find constant happiness, and how to ensure we’re living a fulfilled existence. Would we really make better choices if we could step back in time? Matt Haig’s thought-provoking, uplifting new book, The Midnight Library discusses just that, exploring our relationship with regret and what really makes a perfect life.

Reasons to live matt haig