07 Apr What’s Your Story: The Five Regrets!
Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I have gotten back to blogging and sharing with you some stories, experiences and insights based on my coaching and therapy work. I appreciate your responses and questions about how to live a life with greater accomplishment and satisfaction. Since I wrote my first book “Navigating For Success: Passion, Goals and Action,” I have become even more curious about how people are going through their lives, trying to get ahead and often struggling with their circumstances. My mission is help people to live unforgettable lives and to better enjoy the wonderful gift of life that we have available to us. By becoming clear about what is important to you, creating a map and taking the right actions, you stand a better chance of succeeding, rather than just going through the day and putting up with your circumstances.
Do you ever wonder how others are getting through their lives and if they are feeling satisfied with their accomplishments and experiences? Do you compare yourself to others and regret the choices you have made? Do you ever ponder how your life is or isn’t going to work out? It might be helpful to share with you some insights that a palliative nurse—who works with very ill patients—wrote about in her book: “The Five Regrets Of The Dying.”
1. I WISH I 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. 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. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.”
2. I WISH I HADN’T WORKED SO HARD.
“This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship…. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”
3. I WISH I HAD THE COURAGE TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS.
“Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. 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.”
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. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.”
5. I WISH I HAD LET MYSELF BE HAPPIER.
”This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize 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, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.”
Life Navigators do not wait until the end to make a course adjustment. They take action based on what they decide is important to them, not what decisions they made in the past. They do not get stuck regretting the decisions and actions of their past. They choose to do things in a different way, come to peace with their past and decide that the most important moment of their life is the one right now.
Be a Life Navigator!
Discover your passion!
Set clear goals!
Take focused action!
Be resilient!
Get some Grit!
Live a life worth experiencing!
If you want to contact us and learn more about our coaching and therapy work, call 610-642-4873 ext. 23, email me at center11@verizon.net, or check us out at navigatingforsuccess.com