Deathbed Regrets: The 5 Wishes Of Most Dying People

Deathbed regrets are something most people want to avoid, and now thanks to former nurse and author Bronnie Ware, they can. West’s famous article on the five things that most dying people wish they hadn’t done has been a staple of viral content sites for quite some time.

Recently, the article, which has been posted and reposted several times, crested the three million views mark with no sign of slowing down.

It was only a matter of time before these bits of life wisdom became a book.

The Australian author and speaker has released The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departed, which you can pick up from Hay House for around $15 (paperback).

As a refresher, those top five deathbed regrets go a little something like this via Real Farmacy.

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

“This is a surprisingly common one,” notes Ware. “Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content.”

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

“Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years.”

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

“Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others,” Ware explains. “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.”

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

“This came from every male patient that I nursed,” Ware writes. “They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”

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

“This was the most common regret of all,” adds Ware. “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 not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.”

These are just excerpts, of course. For the full article, hit the Real Farmacy link above or buy the book, also linked above.

What about you, readers? Are you currently guilty of any of these deathbed regrets? Share your experiences in our comments section.

[Image via ShutterStock]