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For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. 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. 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 to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it. 2. I wish I didn’t work so hard. This came from every male patient that I nursed. 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...