The Five Regrets of the Dying

Death. Often a topic we avoid through fear and sadness, it is inevitable and, indeed, the only guarantee in life. When I was researching ways to live a more fulfilling life, I found a fascinating resource of peoples’ regrets at the end of theirs. The Five Regrets of the Dying was a book written by Bronnie Ware, who previously worked as a palliative care nurse in Australia. She kept a blog from her conversations with dying patients that she nursed in the last few precious weeks of their lives. It seems that people obtained more clarity and growth towards the end. When she asked her patients what they would do differently or if they had any regrets, there were some common answers.

The top five regrets were the following.

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the lives others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish I had let myself be happier.

Reflecting on this, I remember many mixed emotions coming up including sadness. I thought of people I had known who had passed away. I’d known people who had taken their own lives at a young age and felt a heart-wrenching pain, thinking, what would they…