Good evening & happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! So sorry for sending this memo out about 12 hours later than normal … I guess I’ve eaten too much turkey these last few days 😊
“Be courageous and live the life that your heart is guiding you toward.”
Bronnie Ware
Bronnie worked in hospice care and wrote a book about what she learned from being with those who were dying titled “Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing.” She identifies the top 5 regrets in her blog Regrets of the Dying – Bronnie Ware
- I wish I’d had the course to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
- I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
- I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
- I wish that I had let myself be happier.
Wow! That is quite a list.
Her comments under the #1 regret of “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me” I found to exceptionally insightful:
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.
What I found particularly fascinating about this list is that 4 of the 5 of them (#1, #3, #4 & #5) were regrets of things NOT DONE (I wish I had …), and only 1 in 5 (#2) was for regrets of actions DONE (I wish I hadn’t …). There are lots of studies in this space, but the bottom line is we as human beings are far more likely in the long run to regret the actions we didn’t take vs the actions we did take that were mistakes. In the short run we have greater regret for actions taken (“I really wish I didn’t say _______.” “I’m so disappointed I did _____.”) but in the long run we have way more regret for what we didn’t do (“I wish I had _____” “I completely regret not taking the opportunity to _____ when I had the chance.”).
Ladies & gentlemen, let that not be us. Let us approach this new year as one without regrets. Let us be people who live with purpose. Let us be people who live life to the fullest. Let us be people who live intentionally.
Thank you for being with us for the journey in 2021. I am beyond excited about what 2022 holds and I am so honored to have an opportunity to partner with you as you write your story.
Happy new year!