Any regrets?

Ideas from Bronnie Ware's Top 5 Regrets of the Dying.

Bronnie Ware’s article The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying is a frequently re-blogged and re-read article about the life-changing concepts that she learned in her work in palliative care.

Sometimes when I get overwhelmed by how complicated life seems I look at her list of the five simple things that are important in life and it helps me to see things more clearly. I have decided to use these ideas to create an action plan for change.

Many people wished they had been more true to themselves and honoured their dreams. For me personally this means writing a book. I have always said I ‘should’ write a book and that if I died without writing and publishing a book it would be one of my big regrets. I have a half-written book that I don’t make time to work on. I’ve realised that to be true to myself I need to prioritise this.

The second regret on the list is that people worked too hard and missed the important things in life, like spending time with their children. As I juggle running a business around a young family I know that I am guilty of this and realise I need to simplify my lifestyle and create some passive income streams.

The third regret is that people wish they had expressed their feelings. Bronnie says honesty makes a relationship healthier, or releases unhealthy relationships from your life. My resolution related to this is that I will be braver!

The fourth regret is losing touch with friends. Bronnie says in the final weeks love and relationships are all that matters. I think I’m pretty good at staying in touch with friends but sometimes I wish I had the energy and determination to take the kids on long train journeys to visit some of my best friends.

The final regret is simply, ‘I wish that I had let myself be happier.’ It’s easy to pretend that we are not in control of our own lives. My action plan for this one is to release old habits, embrace change, be brave and smile.

I summarised what I’ve learned from this in a daily ‘To Do’ list, (pictured) and I think if I lived each day with these rules I would teach my children to live a life with less regrets.

So if you were aiming for no regrets what would you put in your action plan?