The most common regret that people have on their deathbed is that they lived their life according to the desires of others, not how they wanted to. — Dr. Prem Jagyasi
Life is unpredictable. You won’t know when or how it will end. Dying with regrets will surely be the most painful way to leave.
Have you ever wondered what the dying people regretted the most?
Read and reflect on the top 5 regrets and be sure to avoid making the same mistake. Take it as advice from the people who could not fulfill it before dying.
#5 I wish to be myself
Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing. — Friedrich Schiller
When people realize their lives are nearly finished and reflect on them, they see how many dreams have been left unfulfilled. Most people had only fulfilled half their dreams and had to die knowing that their deaths were the result of decisions they had made or not taken.
Often, we are pressured to meet other people’s expectations to the point that we adjust to fulfill what they want.
While meeting their expectations, many experiences and opportunities have been missed.
#4 I wish I had taken more breaks
There were a lot of dying patients who missed a lot of happenings and milestones of their children and family members.
While they were busy working to provide for the needs of their family, they missed the first walk, talk, graduation, and other milestones of their loved ones.
While on their deathbed, they realized how many occasions they had missed because of working too hard. Thus, they wished they could turn back time and spend more time building memories.
#3 I wish I was braver in expressing my true feelings
Suppressed feelings are often done to avoid conflict with other people.
Many dying people regretted doing it because they could not speak out for themselves, masked their true feelings, and did not reach their full potential.
They were not able to express their love fully and even died without telling what they really felt.
#2 I wish I had kept in contact with people who loves me dearly
Cherish your human connections: your relationships with friends and family. — Joseph Brodsky
We are often busy working, making ends meet, studying, tending to our loved ones, and other things that make us preoccupied.
It often leads to letting go of the friendship we missed and regret not keeping it as we get closer to death.
Almost everyone who dies misses their friends whom they did not communicate with for years.
#1 I wish I had chosen my happiness over anything else
In life, we always make decisions that sometimes make us choose one. Most of the time, we choose to be at peace with everyone to sacrifice our happiness.
The dying people remained trapped in old patterns and behaviors. They pretended to be satisfied with others and to themselves out of fear of change, although deep down, they yearned to laugh properly and have playfulness in their lives again.
How about you? What is your greatest regret so far in life? Did you make a move to change or correct it? I’ll leave you with the following quote.
Don’t be on your deathbed someday, having squandered your one chance at life, full of regret because you pursued little distractions instead of big dreams. — Derek Sivers
Thank you for reading; follow me and clap a couple of times.
