5 Regrets Of The Dying, And How We Can Learn To Live A Fuller Life

This morning, I shared a blog I had found on the internet. It's from a nurse named Kelly Oxford that deals with making sick people who are dying, as comfortable as she can. I can't imagine how difficult that job would be.

According to her blog, she also has learned some valuable things that people have regretted, which helps us live our own life.  So here's what I'm going to do:  address each of these regrets with a plan on how to avoid it.

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

I think I've done a decent job at going to the beat of my own drum.  I absolutely hate it when people tell me what I should do.  People, often older than you, will tell you, "Hey you should blah blah blah."   Thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to do what I want to do and follow my own dreams.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

That's a tough one.  With the economy the way it is, it's tough to support a family without working your ass off.  I'm trying to balance getting ahead, with valuing what I already have.

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

Like the blogger says in her full blog, people too often suppress their feelings to keep at peace with others.  Let your true self out, you don't have to be a jerk.

I'm working on doing that.  I used to have pretty thin skin and tried to have everyone like me.  I've learned a couple of things:  not everyone will like you, and most of the time, the same people are the ones that you don't like.

Picture a great person in history in your mind.  Now ask yourself, "Do you think that person achieved success without ticking someone off along the way, by speaking their own mind?'

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

Although Facebook can be idiotic in so many ways, at least you can keep tabs on your friends easier.  We all lose touch, there's just not enough time to keep every relationship you've made.  I have a group of about 10 friends that I've made sure of throughout the years to always stay in contact with.  That's my goal.  Keep those guys/gals close.

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

Basically, this means not falling into the same old bad habits/ patterns/ ways of thinking.

A relative of mine was an alcoholic for many years.  He was in a bad relationship, and wasn't much of anything.  Until one day he decided, as he put it, to "change the tapes."  He described it as a tape player in his head that constantly played over and over again, "You're no good, you can't quit drinking."  After he didn't let the message play any more in his head, his life got much better.  He quit drinking, quit that relationship, and eventually re-married and lived happily ever after.

Sounds kinda funny that a simple thought like that could change a person's life.  But maybe it can.  "Changing the tapes," gives an almost tangible task to change old habits.  Sometimes when we have bad habits, or a poor outlook, we need to reboot in a way.