4402. Five regrets on the deathbed

 Five regrets on the deathbed

 1. 'I wish I hadn't dedicated so much of my life to working so hard.' Bronnie says that one of the most common pangs of conscience that those that are facing their own mortality have revolves around their careers and working lives. She says it's especially true of men, given how the generation that's elderly now used to see more men assuming the 'breadwinner' role. While money is important, so many people regret spending so much time at work, time that could've been allocated to family, friends and pleasure

 

2. 'I wish I'd lived my life the way I wanted, not how others expected me to behave.' A second great lament of those on their deathbeds is around being 'true' to oneself. This, says Bronnie, is the most common of all the regrets she ever heard uttered on her patients' final beds. It is, she interprets, people's sadness at never achieving - or even attempting to achieve - their personal dreams

 

 3. 'I regret losing touch with so many of my friends'. When people look back over their lives toward the end of them, a surprising number feel somewhat contrite about having let friendships fizzle out. Friendships, like all relationships, require maintenance. It's easy to let them slide and die out. Most of us forget about old friends until we're afforded a chance to reflect on our lives. Then, many of us cast our minds back and have regrets that we didn't do more to keep in contact with those people we met along the way and felt great affection for

 

  4. 'I wish I'd been brave enough to express my feelings more'. 'Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others,' says Bronnie. 'As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result'

 

 

5. 'I wish I'd let myself be happier'. Bronnie's final top lament of the dying is a poignant one. And, again, a rather common one. Whether it's a fear of change or a fear of letting others down, so many folk take the easy route, or even the seemingly selfless one. Time and time again. Over a lifetime, this can lead to unhappiness. 'Life is a choice. It is YOUR life,' Bronnie is keen to tell people. 'Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness'