Regret..

 

Socrates famously advised, "By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher". 

He argued that regardless of the choice—marriage or celibacy—one will eventually experience regret, framing it as a choice between marital bliss or the wisdom gained through hardship.

The core message is that all major life decisions carry inherent compromises and regrets, often leading to questioning the path not taken.

• In his foundational work Either/Or, Kierkegaard famously writes that whether you marry or do not marry, you will regret it either way, reflecting the tragic structure of human choice and the romanticizing of the unchosen path.  
 Rather than discouraging marriage, his paradox teaches that freedom means accepting a path and bearing its cost, as seeking a flawless, regret-free decision only leads to paralysis.
• Comment:
• That was then, now is different. Just a thought.