Do you know the top 5 regrets of the dying?

In 2010 me and this fella travelled a few countries for a few months.

I can remember before we set off having to get some jabs done at the doctors because we were going to South America. As the doctor was chatting to me about the injection he asked me where I was going and what for, so I explained that me and partner had given up our jobs to go travelling for a little while. He looked at me, laughed and said ‘haven’t you got all that out of your system yet?’ I was 30 at the time. ‘Out of my system?’ Like some virus I needed to throw up out of my body 😂

The desire to want to explore somewhere new, to have an experience, to see new culture, meet new people, try new foods, live life, feel alive, is not something to get out of my system. This is just another example of restrictions and limitations that people’s beliefs can put on us about how we should live our lives. That certain things must be done at certain times and that there’s a cap on fun and exploration at a certain age. To hell with that I say!

I can remember times in my life where I’ve held back from doing things because it wasn’t the done thing by people around me, but there was a definite turning point where I decided to follow my own path.

I’m sharing this because I see it in others and it’s sad. Sad that people don’t feel safe to be themselves, afraid of being rejected or people thinking they’re weird. And I get it. It’s human nature to want to belong, to want to be accepted by those around you. But there’s nothing more uncomfortable than living a life that’s not true to you.

Have you read ‘The top 5 regrets of the dying’ by Bronnie Ware? I know it sounds grim, but it really is wake up call and something I think we should remind ourselves of daily. Bronnie was a palliative care nurse working with patients who returned home to die. There were themes that came up time and time again about the things that her patients regretted at the end of their lives. Here are the 5 regrets she discovered....

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I'm sure you can probably relate to some of those right now. I know I can catch myself working too hard or not allowing myself to be truly happy.

How do you feel when you read this?

I know it's a cliche, but life really is precious and short and and there’s nothing that breaks my heart more than someone not feeling safe to be themselves. I’ve seen people around me destroy themselves because they couldn’t accept themselves as they are. I myself have spent too long over efforting to try and be something that I thought other people wanted me to be. It’s bloody knackering!