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If we were on our deathbed, what would be the biggest regrets that we’d have?
1. Not taking enough vacations. Life should be a holiday, after all. Why would you not make life as splendid as it could possibly be? A study conducted by Once Upon a Time in America said that only half of people take the opportunity from work to go on vacation. Vacation days are there to help us!
2. Trying to live up to parents’ expectations. Once we’re old and gray, thinking back about our childhood, we start to understand, perhaps as being parents ourselves, that maybe those rules and regulations were there for different reasons than giving us the old rulebook of exactly how to succeed. Rather they’re there to discipline us for them as parents who wanted more free time themselves when they were younger.
3. Not being healthier. From an aging point of view, healthy eating is the thing. So why did I not eat healthier? We have a world full of junk food, and almost everything that we perceive as being semi healthy is actually junk food wrapped in some sort of packaging that we just really don’t need. We need to eat healthier, because many people are disappointed with themselves that their food choices of the years have not been adequate enough for them to live to that glorious old age.
4. Not saving more. One guaranteed thing about our lives is if we get to that ripe old age then we’re going to be less able to work, or perhaps unemployable because of our age. So we have to save for that time of life. It may be glamorous in the moment to spend, but if you’re not able to afford the basic luxuries of life, old age isn’t enjoyable.
5. Ending relationships with those that you actually love. At the end of it all, what do we really have? Memories. When we’re older, we’re going to be looking at people and remembering faces. We don’t want to regret the people we no longer know.
6. Wishing you’d done more for others. Kindness, compassion, and acts of meaningful service are so special. People have power, and yet they wield it so irresponsibly. They could actually help a lot more people, and it’s a regret of many.
7. Wishing you were happier. All the things so far are going to make us much happier as an older person. Having no regrets would give you that perception of happy when you’re older. Why not use it?
8. Wishing you cared less what other people think. If we do what we’re passionate about, we’re going to have a better influence on our own lives and not have regrets about living up to someone else’s expectations.