Wrong decisions and omissions move people in their last hours of life. Australian Bronnie Ware worked for several years as a palliative care nurse, accompanying dying people in the last weeks of their lives. During numerous and detailed conversations, she witnessed what moves people in the very last stage of life. These insights will make you think and remind yourself what really matters in life. In her book “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying” she summarized her insights and experiences.

1. “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself”
When life comes to an end, people look back, take stock and very often have to realize that many dreams remained unfulfilled with the certainty that it was their own responsibility. Because certain decisions were made or just not made. Instead of listening to their own needs, they lived the life that others expected of them. Everyone should follow their heart and take big steps towards their dreams, because someday it will be too late.

2. “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard”
Many regret having sacrificed so much of their life for the job and having spent not enough time with their children and partner. Many parents hardly see their children grow up.

3. “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings”
People often feel ashamed to express feelings and risk something by doing so. Sometimes they want to avoid problems and bite their tongue. The easiest thing to do is to keep your mouth shut and cheat your way through it. But in the end, you never lived and always just reacted. You didn’t stand up for the things that were important to you. You lived a life of compromise and never got to where you wanted to be. Gaining this knowledge late in life makes many people unhappy and some diseases are due to this bitterness and dissatisfaction.

4. “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends”
Many people don’t realize how valuable friendships are until their final weeks. But they were so caught up in their lives that they had neglected friends for years or lost sight of them altogether. And then, at the end of their lives, unforunately it is often impossible to locate these old friends to see them again. Every dying person misses their friends from the past.

5 “I wish that I had let myself be happier”
Many people do not realize until the end that being happy is a personal choice. Instead of choosing happiness, many remain trapped in old patterns and habits. The fear of change brought them to the point of pretending for years to those around them, and even to themselves, that they were content with their lives. Although deep inside they longed to burst out laughing with joy and feel happy from the bottom of their heart again.

What we make of our lives is in our own hands. It is sad to see that we often don’t realize the true value of life until it is too late.

Set your personal sails NOW to live the life YOU want!