What are the top five regrets of the dying?

 

Bronnie Ware shares these with us in her book,  The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing.

 

1. I wish I'd lived a life true to myself, not the life that other people expected from 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'd stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish I'd allowed myself to be happier.

Let’s take a look at # 2 ~ I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. This can be work in the traditional sense, it can be parenting (which is one of the hardest jobs in the world!), it could be caretaking, it could be volunteer work, being a student. The regret around not working too hard isn't about not loving your job, it's about not making your job your whole life.

If we allow our work to become our whole identity and our whole life, then when work is taken away or is finished, there is nothing left. The regrets then begin to sink in as we realize we  have not  spent the time with our family that we wish we had, or we have not achieved other personal dreams that we had hoped to. It’s all about creating a little bit of space where we can pursue passions and relationships outside of work. Ware states that “Space is medicine”. I actually find that if I schedule in this time, it is more likely to happen. I look at my week ahead and schedule lunch dates, pickleball clinics, pilates clases… Making this commitment helps me to follow through.

When I create this time and space to spend time with others or in simply reading a good book or working a puzzle, I return to my work with so much more efficiency and clarity, and I get things done in a shorter time than what I thought I needed.

Challenge: Ask yourself: What would I love to do if I didn't have to work so hard? And then carve out 3 hours very 2 weeks, time to pursue whatever this is.( 3 hours is 180 minutes which is less than 1% of 20,160 minutes which is 2 weeks of minutes) It could be learning a new game such as mahjong, spending 1 hour a week with a friend over coffee or lunch, playing tennis, learning a new instrument or language…  The world will keep going  and if you create this habit then you’ve shown the courage and the commitment to actually having a better life and living how you want.

Let’s face it, we are all going to die and we have no idea when that will be. The more that we can face this fact we begin to realize the sacredness of our time, our lives, and our relationships. Don’t come to the end of your sacred life wishing you hadn’t worked so hard.

Work less, play more!

In Good Health,

Julie

 

Challenge: Ask yourself: What would I love to do if I didn't have to work so hard? And then carve out 3 hours very 2 weeks, time to pursue whatever this is.( 3 hours is 180 minutes which is less than1% 20,160 minutes which is 2 week of minutes) It could be learning a new game such as mahjong, spending 1 hour a week with a friend over coffee or lunch, playing pickleball, learning a new instrument or language…  The world will keep going  and if you create this habit then you’ve shown the courage and the commitment to actually having a better life and living how you want. Let’s face it, we are all going to die and we have no idea when that will be. The more that we can face this fact we begin to realize