The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

If today were your last day on earth, would you have any regrets? I would. I've been thinking about this question lately. Maybe because time seems to be hurtling forward, faster and faster each year, and I want to make sure I'm living my best life. Probably because I read this beautiful blog post about the regrets of the dying, and it's stuck with me since. Working as a hospice care nurse, Bonnie Ware had the chance to speak with many people in the last days of their lives, listening to their regrets as they faced their mortality head on. Interestingly, the regrets had nothing to do with wishing they'd finally gone sky diving, or had taken more splurgy vacations. Instead, she writes, "When questioned about any regrets they had, or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again."

Here are the top 5 regrets of the dying, as told to Ware:

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

2. I wish I didn't work 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 that I had let myself be happier.

I recommend you read her post, as she explains each regret simply and beautifully. She reminds us that happiness is a choice and prompts us to ask ourselves: Do you have any regrets so far? What will you change before you die?

Wishing you a toes-in-the-sand kind of weekend.

{Photo of the Amalfi Coast via}