“What do you regret the most?”, she asked the old man who was on his death bed.
“Well, lady! I wish I had the courage to express my feelings”, said the old man.
In the room, were several other dying patients and she started talking to each and every one of them, asking questions about how they lived their lives and what they regretted the most.
Most people were sad more or less because of the same things, there was a crystal clear pattern.
She decided to turn the insights from her talks into a book, which later became the bestseller, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying Book by Bronnie Ware.
The top five regrets of the dying are :
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
- I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
- I wish I had stayed in contact with my friends.
- I wish I had let myself be happier.
In this world, It’s hard to live a completely regret-free life but these insights can help you avoid them if can be aware of them, and avoid them whenever they pop up in your behavior.
Whenever you find yourself in situations inline with those regrets, stop, and just do it differently than the default way.
And Live a life that is true to yourself.
xoxo,
Vignan Kurme.
Outstanding feature
Insightful piece