David Chen
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The Top Five Regrets of the Dying
🕑 Added 2023-01-10 05:30:17 +0000 UTCHappy new year Patrons! David Chen here. I wanted to try something new today.
Every now and then, Bronnie Ware's list of the top five regrets of the dying goes viral. Ware is an end-of-life caregiver who eventually wrote a book about her experiences: Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing. For many reasons it's an idea that resonates with me, so I decided to give this book a read.
In this bonus audio, I reflect on what I learned from the book and what I think about each regret. Think of it as a podcast book report.
I hope you find it helpful and if you do, I'd love to do more stuff like this in the future! Let me know.
For reference, here are the top 5 regrets:
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.
Links referenced:
- The Guardian: Top five regrets of the dying
- How We Learned to Be Lonely
- Why Is It So Hard For Men To Make Close Friends
- Text your friends. It matters more than you think.
Comments
Brandon Lee Tenney
More of this for sure, David! Thank you!
Leigh Walant
Sorry for the ramble! This podcast really made me think! I would love to hear an update if you make any changes or come to any conclusions based on this stuff.
Leigh Walant
I love hearing your perspective on stuff like this, Dave. We must be very close in age. I am finally ready to call myself "middle aged" which I have been resisting the last few years. I'm watching my parents become elderly, start to have mobility issues and I can see that my time to get what I want out of life is limited. However, it's easy to say you should have done things differently at the end when you have nothing to lose. It's harder when you have to support yourself and your family day to day, and hopefully, put money away for retirement. I have really been struggling, especially lately, to figure out work/life balance. Since COVID it feels like my world has become smaller because we haven't really traveled and I don't see my friends nearly as often. By default, work has become a bigger part of my life and it dominates my thoughts. What I've learned so far is that if I really want to do something, I need to plan for it, make it a priority, and it will happen. It helps me tremendously to have something positive to think about and look forward to. I think you are on to something with choosing which thoughts you focus on.
