Top Five Regrets of the Dying

What regrets will you have when your “number is up”?

This awareness crossed our minds, a few years back, before Feel Good Buzz was launched.  It made us start living our lives differently, so we’d have fewer regrets before it was too late to do anything about them at the end of our lives.

Living and thinking this way has been very freeing; it’s made us bolder, braver and more joyful! This “living without regrets” concept is a big part of why we’re so into sharing our love of optimal, natural health with you all! Here’s a great quote that sums it up . . .

“Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.”

We’ve noticed that as we’ve grown older at Feel Good Buzz, with experience, our worries have lessened.  (Although our struggles haven’t necessarily decreased, our concerns about whether or not everything will turn out all right certainly have!). For us, this decrease in worry and increase in mental confidence and emotional stability has led to an even stronger desire and commitment to see exactly how strong, healthy and energetic our bodies can be to keep up with all of the opportunities surrounding us.  And that is our desire for you as well- to have the kind of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health that enables you to live an inspired life with us!

We hope that this article inspires you as much as it inspires us! . . .

Here are the “Top Five Regrets of the Dying” as recorded by a palliative nurse:

(What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life?)

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. “This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.”
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. “This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. “Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.”
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. “Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.”
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

(Source: Top five regrets of the dying at www.guardian.co.uk)