My nephew, Charles Jones (Charles.Jones@briggsequipment.com), sent me an interesting article from a woman who spent many years of her life as a palliative care nurse. In the article she mentions the top 5 regrets people have before they die. As sad as it appears to be, she said each person found peace before they departed.
Her most common five:
- "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. Most individuals apparently had not honored even half of their dreams due to the choices they "didn't make".
- "I wish I didn't work so hard." Guess which gender made this the most often? Every male patient she nursed made this statement. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship.
- "I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings." While we can't control the actions of others, we can control how we react to them.
- "I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends." Often individuals would not realize the full benefits of old friends until their last dying weeks. Many had become so caught up in their own lives they were regretful about not giving friendships the time and effort they deserved.
- "I wish that I had let myself be happier." Happiness is a choice, just like one's attitude. Let us never forget some of the simple rules we learned in kindergarten to let go, have fun, and smile more often goes a long way.
So choose wisely my friend. Take the time each day to stop and ponder what the priorities are in your life and not let the good push out the most important. One of the wisest men who ever lived summed it up this way, "A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he." Solomon
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Finally, check out this 3 minute video from last week's CBS Evening News of a man who truly learned how to live and is leaving a legacy with an entire town. Want to talk about Level 5 Leadership and a legacy! Make me more like this man!
Posted on
Mon, January 30, 2012
by Ron Beasley
filed under