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By   Bronnie Ware Wake Up World For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who  had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared.  I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their  lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some  changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as  expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually  acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they  departed though, every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would  do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the  most common five: 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...

April 27, 2013   by   Joe Martino A palliative nurse recorded the most common regrets of the dying and put her findings into a book called ‘The Top Five Regrets of The Dying.’ It’s not surprising to see what made the list as they are all things that touch each of our lives as we struggle to pay attention to and make time for things that we truly love. Below is the list of each regret along with an excerpt from the book.  At the bottom is also a link to the book for anyone interested in checking it out. One thing on regret before we get to the list. It’s important to remember that whatever stage we are at in life, there is no need for regret. The process of regret is one that provides nothing but suffering for ourselves as we begin to allow the past to dictate how we should feel now. Instead, we can use the past as a reference point to understand what adjustments we would like to make moving forward. The adjustments do not have to come out of pain, sorrow,...