Top Five Regrets - Thoughts at the End of the Year

Remember: Today is the first day of the rest of your life
Bronnie Ware listed the five most important regrets people had when their lives neared the end.
"People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality.  When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again." 

Here's What They Regreted:

I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all.  When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled.  Most people have had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honor at least some of your dreams along the way.  From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize until they no longer have it.


I wish I didn't work so hard
They missed their childrenís youth and their partner's companionship and deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.  By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.


I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.  As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end, it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level.

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends and it was not always possible to track them down.  Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years.  There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved.  Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. That is all that remains: love and relationships.

I wish that I had let myself be happier
Many people did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice.  They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits.  The so-called "comfort" of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives.  Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content.  When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.  Life is a choice.  It is YOUR life.  Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly.  Choose happiness.

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Ask Yourself: “If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?” 

~ Steve Jobs

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