{"id":111,"date":"2012-08-15T05:12:35","date_gmt":"2012-08-15T05:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/?p=111"},"modified":"2012-08-15T05:19:32","modified_gmt":"2012-08-15T05:19:32","slug":"top-5-regrets-of-the-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/top-5-regrets-of-the-dying","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 regrets of the Dying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi Everyone,<\/p>\n

Recently I read a book called The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying<\/a> by Bronnie Ware. Bronnie is an Australian nurse who has spent many years caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives.<\/p>\n

She originally kept a blog recording their dying epiphanies, then following the popularity of this blog, she ended up writing a book that detailed the top 5 regrets of the dying from these epiphanies.<\/p>\n

In this article, I want to present the 5 regrets of the dying and how you can learn from these \u2018end of life\u2019 epiphanies.<\/p>\n

Regret #1. I wish I\u2019d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Bronnie, \u201cThis was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams ahve gone unfulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

The eye-opening thing to note is that most people that Bronnie observed had not even honoured even half of their dreams, and had to die knowing that they could have acheived these if it were not for choices they had regretted making.<\/p>\n

The thing is, when we are healthy, we have enormous freedom and time that very few people can properly appreciate, until we no longer have it.<\/p>\n

Letting your life meander on, or putting more emphasis on achieving others\u2019 expectations of you could mean sacrificing your dreams, and your destiny that you were meant to fulfil.<\/p>\n

Regret #2. I wish I hadn\u2019t worked so hard<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children\u2019s youth and their partner\u2019s companionship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bearing in mind that most of the patients that Bronnie nursed were from an older generation where the breadwinners were often males, women who did work also spoke of this regret.<\/p>\n

Being a father of 2 now, and having a wife that I love so much, I can see how this can easily happen.<\/p>\n

Kids grow up very fast, and when you are trying to save for many different things (the next house, children\u2019s schooling, etc), it\u2019s easy to find yourself putting aside family time in favor of getting things done at work.<\/p>\n

Personally I\u2019m very thankful for what my business has brought me in terms of the freedom to be able to spend more time with my kids, go on vacations and so forth. I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be if I was trapped in a job that I didn\u2019t like, having to work overtime hours trying to make ends meet for the family.<\/p>\n

That is unfortunately the way of life for many people and it can be challenging to move outside of this.<\/p>\n

Just remember though\u2026 The time for happiness is (and always was) NOW.<\/p>\n

You can put a price on a house, on food, on education, but you can\u2019t put a price on time missed with your partner, your children and other loved ones.<\/p>\n

Always find time. Some way. Some how.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let work\/family life fall out of balance.<\/p>\n

Regret #3. I wish I\u2019d had the courage to express my feelings<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMany people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

You were put on this earth for a reason, and if you don\u2019t live true to yourself and speak up for yourself, then while you mean to keep peace, most of the time you\u2019ll actually be stunting the growth of your relationships with yourself and with others.<\/p>\n

Regret #4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMany 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t necessarily advocate living every day as if it were your last, but make sure that from time to time, you look at your life and ask yourself the question, if I were to die tomorrow \u2026 have I been spending as much time with my family and friends as I should have, or would there be regrets?<\/p>\n

Several different research studies have proven that the number one factor contributing to human happiness is the strength of your close friendships.<\/p>\n

There have been many studies that back up what I\u2019ve been saying about the importance of strong social connections on human health and wellbeing. For instance, in 2007, the American Journal of Public Health published the results of a survey of 24,000 workers. Their results showed that the men and women with the weakest social ties were the most likely to suffer from major depressive symptoms.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t seem to matter whether you have one or more close friendships, what matters is the strength of the connections that you do form with friends and relatives and how often you spend time cooperating in activities and sharing your personal feelings with them.<\/p>\n

Just to reiterate, it\u2019s not the quantity of your interpersonal relationships, it\u2019s the quality that counts.<\/p>\n

Regret #5. I wish I had let myself be happier<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called \u2018comfort\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have any trouble being happy right NOW, then it\u2019s time you started preparing a gratitude journal. Every day write down 3 things about the world and\/or your life that you are grateful for. It might be your spouse, it might be the fact that you have 2 legs, there are many obvious and less obvious things in this world to be grateful for, and when you bring them to your conscious attention on a daily basis, you\u2019ll find yourself immensely happier as a result.<\/p>\n

Concluding thoughts\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you think that you are not living according to what you want with your life, then NOW is the time to change for the better. Ask yourself what you want so that you can finally start enjoying your life.<\/p>\n

Remember that we are given one chance to live out our destiny and to make a difference to the world.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s your life, and how it plays out is a direct function of the choices that YOU make.<\/p>\n

Choose to be true to yourself, work hard in a profession that you are passionate about, but DON\u2019T let your life become a treadmill of \u2018work\u2019 \u2013 especially not in a career that you were not destined for, choose to spend more time with your family and friends, choose to express your feelings, choose to be happy\u2026 NOW.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoyed this article, I\u2019m looking forward to your comments below.<\/p>\n

Also if you wish to get yourself a copy of this brilliant book, here\u2019s a link: The top 5 regrets of the dying<\/a><\/p>\n

Kind regards,
\nMark Ling
\nCoFounder of Amazing Self<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Everyone, Recently I read a book called The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying by Bronnie Ware. Bronnie is an Australian nurse who has spent many years caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She originally kept a blog recording their dying epiphanies, then following the popularity of this blog, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114,"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions\/114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amazingself.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}