I was reminded today of an inspiring article that was written by a nurse who worked in palliative care. Bronnie Ware, through speaking to her patients who were terminal and in their final weeks, identified the 5 most common life regrets they had about their lives. These are –
- Not having the courage to live a true life rather than living according to the expectations of others
- Working too much or too hard – According to Bronnie Ware, all males stated this. They felt they hard worked unnecessarily when they could have done more with their family
- Not having the courage to express true feelings – The regret of suppressing our own feelings to keep the peace with others.
- Not staying in contact with friends – it can be so easy to lose touch
- Not allowing themselves to be happier – based on the notion that we can choose to be happy; we can choose our behaviours
We often live our lives on autopilot and do what we think we should do; forgetting to truly live; forgetting to do what’s most important to us. Instead we can spend our time distracting ourselves from feeling uncomfortable or anxious or working to cover our insecurities whether that by making ourselves more secure or creating wealth to over-compensate for our perceived inadequacies.
Read the full article here – it’s likely to be the wisest 3 minutes you’ll spend today!
Regards