Don’t Have These 5 Regrets For Your Life

Did you know that over a lifetime, the average person makes 773,618 decisions? And out of all those decisions, we regret 143,262 of them. Which means 18 1/2% of our decisions, almost 1 in 5, we tend to regret. Those are terrible odds. Why are we regretting so many of our decisions?

The other day I was I was speaking with another coach and she mentioned this book Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bonnie Ware. Sounds like a bit of a Debbie Downer book, but, it is quite uplifting and motivating. It focuses on how to live our lives fuller than we are right now. 

What is regret? It’s actually fascinating. It is an evolutionary advantage, that allows us to learn from our mistakes. So, regret can be a good thing. Regardless of evolution, I think there are so many things that we regret before we die. 

So what are the top regrets outlined by Bonnie Ware? 

1) Did not live a life true to themselves, but did what other people expected of them. I feel like this is hardwired into women’s DNA because ultimately this is what people pleasing is all about, right? 

2) Working too hard. I think we’re all guilty of this. 

3) Wished they had the courage to express their feelings. This is amazing, because how many of us don’t want to tell people how we’re feeling. Whether those feelings are positive or negative. Be honest with others and yourself about your feelings.

4) A desire to have stayed in touch with old friends. The key here is it’s not about artificial connection (Zoom, Facebook, etc.). When you’re physically in the same proximity of another person you get the energy from that person, and you can hug that other person and have a face to face conversation. The value of that has so much more than just a little Facebook 👍 button. 

5) Not to let themselves be happy. I find this so fascinating. And it’s not so much the word happier. It’s the idea that they did not LET themselves be happier. Why are we denying ourselves enjoyment, and joy, and fulfillment and overall health by letting ourselves be happy? This isn’t a badge of honor to be unhappy.

So, the one common thread that they found in all of these regrets is a lack of courage. We become so concerned about staying safe, and staying with what we know, and doing what’s familiar, that we would rather spend an entire life based on regrets. So grab some courage to go against of these regrets and change them and really turn your life into something extraordinary. 

Peace and Love.