Not that long ago an essay by Bronnie Ware, a songwriter and former palliative nurse, made its way around Facebook.  She talked about her thoughts on what people’s major regrets were at their end of life.

They were as follows

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 didn’t work 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.

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It strikes me that people’s regrets come down to choices not acted upon. People didn’t regret risks they took that failed-they regretted the dreams not acted upon. This is an important realization to bring into our lives.  People often ruminate over taking risks and ultimately decide not to take them because they are scared. However, at the end of their lives they will be thinking about their failure to take a risk rather than the risks they took which failed. Allow yourself to take risks along the way so you can live a life true to yourself. At the end only we can really determine our own happiness.