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What do dying people regret? 10 things that many people regret at the end of their lives

What do dying people regret?

You want to know what dying people regret? We have all thought about life and death. But what about the time when you find yourself exactly between these worlds? What thoughts run through people's heads at that point? According to the experiences of caregivers and other people who spend their last moments with the dying, it is mainly the mistakes and the realization that something has been missed that people think about on their deathbed.

In this article, I would now like to tell you the things that dying people regret the most. These insights are guaranteed to put your world in a different light!

10 Things Dying People Regret Most: What do you regret on your deathbed?

Hardly anyone has not thought about death. But we all make the same mistake. We always think about the past and the future. The here and now, on the other hand, is unfortunately left out.

But that is exactly where the biggest mistake happens. Life just rushes by in the thoughts and worries about the past or the future. Then comes the regret on the deathbed. What would you rather have done differently? What did you leave out, what did you miss, or what mistakes were avoidable?

Anyway, you don't think about the book you didn't finish reading, the messages to your boss's email address, whether you were an unpleasant customer, and other small and meaningless things.

One thinks of the really important things in life, which emphasize the feeling of remorse. Family, friends, love, experiences, one's personality, behaviors and so on. Here you will now learn what dying people regret - in the last breaths of their lives.

1. i wish i had had more time!

Dying people regret not having used the time

Time is not just the ticking of the hands on the clock. It is the path of life, which inevitably also has an end. Every hour, every minute and every second is precious and that, unfortunately, is what too few of us are aware of.

Most dying people do not realize this until it is too late. You can't sign up for a new life, you have only one and that counts.

Some regret that they did not have enough time for the family, others that they did not have enough time for dreams and experiences. Dying people usually only realize at the end of their lives that time was not used as they would have liked in retrospect.

Most people strive for success, for money and for fame. But what is really important is unfortunately often forgotten. The gray everyday life is one of the main reasons for this.

Day after day passes. In an instant, we find ourselves at the end of the road of life. Everything, all the effort for material things and recognition suddenly appears for what it is: tiny and insignificant.

"It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it."

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Everyone answers the question of time differently, but the comments at the end of life's journey remain similar: "If only I had had more time ...".

Don't just let your life pass you by, use each day in the best way possible. You don't have to conquer the world every new morning, but do what fills your heart.

Because that's what counts in the end. That your heart and soul are fully happy and satisfied. So you will also feel at the end that your time on this earth was well used and that you have missed nothing.

2. I wish I had lived my life my way!

Most patients at the deathbed, think about the last years of life. Were they really worth living? Did one really do what one wanted?

Just at this moment often comes the Realization that they have lived their lives more according to other people's ideas - and that this is exactly what they regret the most.

Some have fulfilled the dreams of their parents, others have lived according to the principles of society. But hardly anyone has done what he/she really wanted. Unfortunately, their dreams remained dreams and were never realized.

We run through life trying to please everyone, but is this really the meaning of life? It is when you look back on your life that regret comes. That is why one should look at one's personal Dreams of life always pursue and make their own wishes a reality.

Only in this way can you find peace at the end of the path. Dying will open our eyes, but don't you think that at this moment it is a little too late?

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

Walt Disney

Don't let your life only please others. It is your life and you should enjoy it to the fullest. Your ideas and dreams for your life are the signposts that you should follow. Have courage and confidence in your own abilities, shape your life the way you want. So you will feel pride and happiness at the end of the road - and no regrets!

3. I wish I had loved more!

Many dying people regret not having loved enough

Love fills our soul and heart. But not everyone has the courage to reveal their feelings. Exactly these suppressed feelings dying people regret particularly often.

In conversations with dying people, it often becomes apparent that love was not present enough in everyday life. Due to the fear of being rejected, many relationships crumbled precisely because of the lack of words and actions that emphasize love.

But for most people, love was something that was taken for granted. But that is exactly why it lost its meaning in the course of life. When the last minutes are ticking, we usually only become aware that the special people do not know what we feel at all.

The thought that we are leaving the world and that these very people have not experienced our boundless love fills us with remorse and regret.

"The sum of our lives are the hours we loved."

William Busch

Don't let yourself leave this world and let your friends and family not know how much you love them. Hug your parents every day, keep in touch with your friends, write a love letter to your partner and let your feelings run free.

Only those who give love can receive love in return. This is one of the most beautiful feelings you can experience. Your life is short enough, let it be filled with love and do not regret once too little. "I love you." to have said!

4. I wish I had been happier!

Many philosophers, researchers and poets have tried their hand at defining happiness. But happiness is defined differently by each person.

Especially in the last moments, dying people realize that happiness was rather a marginal note on their life path. Most people think in the course of life that happiness lies in the big things, the success, the fame, the income.

But many then only understand on their deathbed that these things are actually so infinitely small and meaningless. The pursuit of happiness is a lifelong task, but unfortunately we too often run after the wrong things. However, this realization comes to most people only on their deathbed.

Happiness is to start the day healthy, happiness is when all the people we love are healthy and lively, happiness is to see the sun. And happiness is laughing. These little things make life worth living - but don't always get the attention they deserve.

We are so focused on the successes, on the great future, that the here and now falls out of our hands.

"Many people miss the small happiness while waiting for the big one in vain."

Pearl S. Buck

Everyone is the forger of their own happiness and everyone knows their personal definition of happiness. Just do what you enjoy most and spend more time with the most important people in your life. Laugh with your whole soul and experience that happiness is in the little things.

5. I wish I had set my priorities differently!

Something that dying people regret the most is the priorities they set in their lives. Already or only when the last moments of life's journey dawn, they became aware that they prioritized wrongly.

Work, money and success are things that many of us strive for. But that is not really the core that makes life worth living. Unfortunately, dying people only understand this at the end of life's journey.

We strive for the wrong things all the time and the real priorities fall by the wayside. Have we really found the meaning of life in material things? Does consumption make people happy? What do we have left in the end from all the things, all the money, success and fame? Nothing!

We take to heaven only what we carry in our heart, what our soul has felt. These are the priorities that we should put in the first place of our actions.

"When we identify what's really important, we also prioritize it correctly."

Monika Kühn-Görg

Don't let your life be defined by the small and insignificant things. Make the big things priorities. Love, health and happiness for example! Because if we strive for these superior, beautiful things, there will be no room for regret.

6. I wish I had seen more of the world!

At the end of life, people regret not having seen the world

At the end of life, dying people mainly regret the things they may have missed. After all, most of us have only seen a tiny part of the larger world. For many, FOMO (fear of missing out) is a cause for regret.

Now you can not experience EVERYTHING. But too often we isolate ourselves in our comfort zone, so that we experience nothing at all. We only orient ourselves to our surroundings, to the same people and everyday things. The fear of leaving this zone and experiencing something new and different is far too great for many people. But leaving the comfort zone is what actually makes life so incredibly exciting.

When life comes to an end, we often regret not having had the courage to think outside the box. In the blink of an eye, everything can be over, and what have we really seen of the world?

"The world is a book. If you never travel, you only see one side of it!"

Augustine of Hippo

Life is full of adventure and new things to discover. If you are only in your own capsule, you cannot experience the beauty of the world. So gather your courage, go out into the world.

The memories you collect on every journey, these are your companion for your whole life. Open your eyes and heart to something new and experience every day as a new adventure.

Visit all the places you've always wanted to see, write your own books. You'll have unique stories to tell and guaranteed no regrets.

7. I wish I had listened more to my heart!

Among the most common things that dying people regret the most is not following their own heart. Most people want to make rational and wise decisions in life. Over time, this is exactly what turns us into so-called head people. We rely one-sidedly on our intellectual abilities and less on our feelings and own intuition.

In these moments, the battle between the head and the heart is great, because the head knows a different way than the heart. But the head decision is not always the best for us. What about our desires, dreams and what the heart wants. This pursuit falls by the wayside.

The fear of following the heart is too great. Because, as experience shows, these decisions of the heart are not always rational. But the language of the heart will lead us into the most beautiful experiences we have in life. Unfortunately, too often we suppress it and think only with our head. The consequence is that at the end of life we often regret not having listened to our own heart.

"If you always make your decisions with your head and not your heart, eventually your heart will get sick."

Miguel R. E. May

Being a heart person requires a lot of courage and strength. But the risks we take with these decisions will define life and not least our own personality. Only the heart can make us happy, because only the heart knows what we are missing.

Just leave your head out of the decisions and follow the melody of your heart. On this way you will experience the most beautiful things, the most beautiful feelings.

8. I wish I had loved myself more!

Many do not realize how harshly they have treated themselves until they are on their deathbed. There are simply too many things that we do not like about ourselves. It is precisely these thoughts that make us feel uncomfortable in our own skin. Lack of self-love can destroy life.

Always more, always better, always higher, we are never satisfied with ourselves. And so life can slide into self-doubt. Dying people often come to this realization, especially in their last moments. After all, the time could have been used much better if self-love had always been present. More self-love, more courage. Unfortunately, social pressure is too great for many of us, so that the constant doubting of possibly not being good enough eats up one's own life.

"The tragedy in many people's lives is that you look for self-worth everywhere but within yourself."

Nathaniel Branden

Learn self love is the most important task for us humans. Because only those who can love themselves can also love others and life. So do not doubt yourself, everyone has rough edges.

Try to be the best version of yourself, because that is definitely good enough. Other people will always find points of criticism - they are not perfect either. If you make peace with yourself and accept yourself as you are, then even the strongest storm can't harm you!

9. I wish I hadn't worked so much and spent more time with loved ones!

Dying regret the forgotten friendships

Many dying people do not realize until it is too late that they have put too much focus on work and too little on family. This is one of the main reasons for deathbed regrets.

Most people try so hard to give children everything possible in this world, but what really matters, viz. the time together, that falls by the wayside.

Spending time with loved ones and experiencing moments together is the most precious thing a person can have. But the time of life at work eats up these moments. The children become adults and you miss precious moments. You yourself grow older and at some point register that it's already too late.

"Guys, make time for friends and family because you never know how many moments you have left with them."

Unknown

Just leave work now and then, it's not like it's going to run away from you. But you can't bring back the time with your family. This is really what counts in life. These moments make us feel truly alive. Friends and family are the most important thing!

10. I wish I had paid more attention to my health!

Of course, lack of health is also one of the things that dying people regret the most. More precisely, one thinks about why one did not do more for one's health. In the end, the consequences of one's lifestyle end one's life in most cases. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later.

Stress, the wrong diet, smoking, drinking, these are all things that destroy our health. But these things you can change so easily and simply and thereby ultimately significantly live longer and grow old healthily.

"Health is not everything, but without health, everything is nothing."

Arthur Schopenhauer

Lay off the evening beer, eat some more fruits and vegetables, don't sit all day, go for a walk. So simple you can Promote health, it's that simple to improve the quality of life.

Don't let your life expectancy suffer from bad decisions in your youth. Do something good for your health now and thank yourself later in your old age!

What is important at the end of life?

End of life - What is important?

Nothing in life is as valuable as time, and it should be used as well as possible. Author Bronnie Ware ("5 Things Dying People Regret Most"), also says that life is not about the superficial things, like money or success. Rather, she says, happiness lies in the small but significant things. It is precisely these that make life worth living, which is why one should not leave them out.

So always do what fulfills you and have the courage to see and experience new things. Always say what is close to your heart and love like there is no tomorrow.

Pursue your dreams and interests, walk your path with firm steps and make every day a new adventure. Thus, the end, the end of life, will not be marked with unanswered questions, regrets and unfulfilled desires, but with beautiful memories that you have enjoyed in life!

Do you have any suggestions, questions or can you think of other things that dying people regret? Then feel free to write me a comment.

Stay sustainable,

Christoph from CareElite - Plastic-free living

PS: Look you with pleasure still something in the Blog for a healthy psyche um. Learn, for example, what is meant by toxic positivity understands - and whether you might be a toxic positive yourself.

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Christoph Schulz

Christoph Schulz

I'm Christoph, an environmental scientist and author - and here at CareElite I'm campaigning against plastic waste in the environment, climate change and all the other major environmental problems of our time. Together with other environmentally conscious bloggers, I want to give you tips & tricks for a naturally healthy, sustainable life as well as your personal development.