I listened to this conversation between Bronnie and Marie about the regrets dying people have. It’s such a strong conversation, because they insert both death and regret in the same sentence; because they talk about the regrets of people who had their last chance and they missed it.
If that’s not a powerful enough sentence, let me say it again, in a different way. Many of us have regrets and live with them, we postpone things which matter to us or we don’t even take the time to articulate, to define, the things we want to do, before we get on with our busy lives. But talking about regrets when there’s no time to postpone anything anymore.. that’s different.
There’s this hopeless regret around things we had a change to do and that chance will never come again; the kind of regret we have when we say “I wish I had done x”.
And then there’s the other kind of regret, it’s almost like a pre-regret, which sounds more like “If you don’t do this now, you will be sorry later”. This is when it’s not too late yet, when you are aware of the choice you’re making and the consequences it brings along, this is what Branson talks about when he says “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!”
“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me”
This tops Bronnie’s regret list and it’s such a powerful statement. We so often get caught up in the busyness around us, that we forget why we do the things that we do, how we got to do those things in the first place and what it is that we really want to do instead.
Take a step back from your daily duties, take a step back from your life as it is now, and answer these questions:
- How does your life look like at the moment?
- What would living a life true to yourself look like?
- What is it that you need to let go of now, to bring your reality closer to that image of a life true to yourself?
- What is it that you need to create in your life, the creation of which will enable you to get closer to the image of a life true to yourself?
- How can I assist you in achieving that?
Bonnie wrote “Top five regrets of the dying” while she was a nurse in Australia, when she spent 8 years looking after people who were about to pass away. Her article received over 8 million shares in the last 3 years, served as the basis for her books and most importantly contributed to many people changing their lives.
