Imagine for a second that you are going to die. What do you regret? What would you have wanted to do that you didn't? What would you have wanted to achieve but could not? What did you want to say but didn't say it?
These were, more or less, the questions that Bronnie Ware asked a few dozen people. Ware is an Australian nurse whose job it is to care for the terminally ill in their final weeks of life. With the answers he got from these people, Ware made a book called "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed".
The five things most people regret before they die
In the last days of our life, perhaps because we feel very lonely, it is normal to look back and reflect on what we have done during the time we have available. The truth is that everyone, in the final moments, had something to repent of. But the funny thing is that most people more or less regret the same things. Even though we are all different, deep down, it seems that we all behave the same and make the same mistakes.
- "I would have liked to live in pursuit of my dreams and desires rather than follow the rules that others have imposed on me"
This is the thing that most people regret. In essence, it means that we often follow the rules and norms that others set without even stopping to think if that's what we really want. We all have our dreams and illusions, but we usually park them in a corner to do what others expect of us, because we think there will be a day when everything will change. But life passes and everything remains the same, unless we decide to take our destiny in hand and change things directly.
- "I would have liked to work less"
No it is exaggerated, if we stop for a moment to think, we realize that we spend too much time working and, above all, we waste too much energy because even when we are not working, we often think about that project we have pending. Work allows us to support ourselves financially and gives us satisfaction in the professional field, but we cannot forget that we also need to spend time with the people we love because, after all, the happiest moments are those we share with family and friends. friends. Remember that you are not a psychologist, teacher, lawyer or carpenter, these are only professions, they do not define you as a person; you are you. Let us not fall into the trap that a society imposes on us that forces us to work to accumulate more and more wealth. The only precious thing we really have is our time, and it's very little, if we waste it, the money won't be able to give it back.
- "I would have liked to express more what I felt"
How many times have you wanted to tell someone how much you love them, but have held back? How many times have you wanted to say that you didn't like a situation and kept quiet, swallowing all the anger? The truth is, we lack the self-confidence to express our feelings, be they positive or negative. Eventually these end up accumulating within us causing a sense of discomfort and dissatisfaction. So the next time you want to tell someone you love them, say it smoothly and repeat it as often as needed. And when you get angry or see something you don't like, express your opinion freely, we have the right to disagree with the opinions of others.
- "I would have liked closer ties with friends"
How many friends have we lost in life simply out of laziness or because we always put off that call we wanted to make? How many people are there that we would like to get to know better but do not have the courage to take the first step? The truth is that we have too many problems when it comes to establishing relationships, we raise unnecessary barriers and, above all, we tend to postpone everything that we are not obliged to do. I'm glad you're reading this ... but once you're done, why don't you call that friend you haven't heard from in a long time and recover that old relationship that was close to your heart? Remember that life is very uncertain, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
- "I would have liked to have given myself more opportunities to be happy"
The whirlwind of everyday life is so hectic that we often lose sight of our main goal, which is not to get a promotion or buy a house, or make more money, but to be happy. Every big step we take must always meet this goal because time flies. Now ask yourself if you have done everything in your power to be happy in the past few years. How many of the actions you have done in the last days have made you happy? If the answer is few, do not lose heart, you can still give yourself the chance to be happy.
