Top 5 Regrets of the Dying Mastery Newsletter July 10, 2025
The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying
- I wish I had let myself be more happy
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
These are from Bronnie Ware’s 2012 book Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
Ware spent years caring for those facing their own mortality.
When she asked them about any regrets, these five kept coming up time and again.
- Too late they realized they could choose to be happy.
How can I choose to be happy today?
- Too often they failed to give friends the time and energy they deserved.
How can I make more time for friends?
- Too often they shut their mouths and shuttered their feelings and that weighed heavy on them.
How can I learn to express myself clearly and lovingly?
- Too much time spent making a living over building a life caused too much remorse.
How can I live a more fulfilling and purposeful life?
- THE BIG ONE: This one stood out for Bronnie Ware. Half filled dreams and unfulfilled hopes. This was the #1 regret expressed by the dying. As Ware puts it: “Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that is was due to the choices they made, or not made.”
Bronnie Ware’s observations are not hers alone. Gilovich and Medvec in 1994 wrote: “When people look back on their lives, it is the things they have not done that generate the greatest regret…People’s action may be troublesome initially, it is the inactions that plague most with long-term feelings of regret.
What hopes and dreams do I have that I have not undertaken?
Thanks to Gary Keller and Jay Papasan for their book THE ONE THING. These thoughts and ideas come from that book.
To quote their book: “So make sure every day you do what matters most. When you know what matters most, everything makes sense.’
The best lives are lived this way.
How do I find out what really matter most to me?
The book shows how to find that out.
The full name of the book:
THE ONE THING. THE SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE TRUTH BEHIND EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS. Author Gary Keller with Jay Papasan.
In Joy and Love
Matti Anttila PLD (Professional Laughter Dude)
Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher
Head Honcho at EasyStressRelease.com
Author of The Zen of Joy
“Joy and Love are key to overcoming our inner turmoil as well as the challenges and chaos present in the world.”
Free resource: “108 Tips for More Joy, Energy and Health.” Click here: https://joyenergyandhealth.com
Do your own research. Do not trust mine.
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