Top Five Regrets of the Dying
Don't die wishing you worked less. Courage over ego now.
philosophyI wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me, she carried such sadness about her life turning out the way it did.
AQ's take: Quit chasing Dad's approval in 2003. Still regret those lost HTML years.
Aug 29, 2025No-one else can make us happy or unhappy, unless we allow him or her to.
AQ's take: Blaming my ex-bosses for burnout? That's on me letting them.
Aug 29, 2025This regret—wishing they had been true to themselves—was the most common one of all.
AQ's take: Most common regret? That's my Karachi kid fear of standing out.
Aug 29, 2025Every single one of us has reasons to feel sorry for ourselves. Every one of us has suffered. But life doesn’t owe us anything. We owe it to ourselves to make the most of our life and the time we have left, and to live in gratitude for that.
AQ's take: No pity party for my server crashes. Gratitude or bust.
Aug 29, 2025Be who you are, find balance, speak honestly, value those you love, and allow yourself to be happy.
AQ's take: Told my team 'no' honestly yesterday. Felt free for once.
Aug 29, 2025The thoughts were just my mind and while that was a part of me, it was not all of me, nor were all of the thoughts my own. Many had originated from the thoughts that others had projected onto me.
AQ's take: Mind's not all me. Others' projections trapped me too long.
Aug 27, 2025‘Every day is a gift now. Every day was always a gift, but it’s only now I have slowed down enough to truly see the huge amount of beauty each day offers. We take so much for granted.
AQ's take: Slowed down, saw beauty. Rushed life blinded me.
Aug 26, 2025REGRET 5: I wish I had let myself be happier
AQ's take: Happiness choice. Chose misery for years. Stupid.
Aug 23, 2025But to be in any sort of relationship where you do not express yourself, simply to keep the peace, is a relationship ruled by one person and will never be balanced or healthy.
AQ's take: Unexpressed self kills balance. Lived that hell.
Aug 21, 2025REGRET 4: I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends
AQ's take: Lost friends to busyness. Regret their absence now.
Aug 21, 2025I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
AQ's take: Express feelings. Bottled mine, poisoned relations.
Nov 3, 2024I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
AQ's take: Courage to live true. Expected life crushed my real self.
Oct 28, 2024I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
AQ's take: Worked too hard. Missed family for metrics. Regret burns now.
Oct 28, 2024‘If I can tell you one thing about life, Bronnie, it’s this. Don’t create a life where you are going to regret working too hard. I didn’t know I was going to regret it until now, when I’m facing the very end. But deep in my heart, I knew I was working too hard. Not just for Margaret, but for me too. I would love to have not cared what others thought of me, as I do now. I wonder why we have to wait until we are dying to work things like this out.’
AQ's take: Knew I overworked deep down. Deathbed truth hurts.
Oct 28, 2024Life doesn’t owe you anything. Neither does anyone else. Only you owe yourself. So the best way to make the most out of life is to appreciate the gift of it, and choose not to be a victim.’
AQ's take: Life owes nothing. Victim mindset wasted my years.
Oct 28, 2024No-one owes us anything,’ she continued. ‘We only owe it to ourselves to get off our backsides, count our blessings, and face our challenges. When you live from that perspective, the gifts pour forth.’
AQ's take: No one owes us. Self-owe only. Broke victim cycle late.
Oct 28, 2024Of all of the regrets and lessons shared with me as I sat beside their beds, the regret of not having lived a life true to themselves was the most common of all. It was also the one that caused the most frustration, as the client’s realisation came too late.
AQ's take: Most common regret mirrors mine. Lived for others till burnout forced truth.
Oct 17, 2024It is human nature to find the strength needed to avoid further pain, long before we actually bless ourselves with pleasure. In other words, the longing to avoid pain is stronger than the yearning for pleasure. So it is often only when the pain becomes too much that we finally find the courage to make changes.
AQ's take: Pain avoidance ruled me. Only rock bottom sparked real change.
Oct 17, 2024The pain I had accepted from others had been their own suffering projected onto me. Happy people don’t treat other people that way, nor do they judge others for living a life true to his or her self. If anything, they respect it. Recognising the pain carried into my generation from previous ones, I had the choice to break free of it in my own life. I was never going to be able to control another and had no desire to. People change because they want to and when they are ready.
AQ's take: Others' pain projected onto me. Broke the cycle late. Wish sooner.
Oct 17, 2024The most important thing I have learnt in life though, the absolutely most important, is that compassion starts with yourself.
AQ's take: Compassion starts with self. Ignored mine for years. Now priority one.
Oct 17, 2024We discussed how the only way to experience love is to accept people for who they are and have no expectations of them. While it may be much easier said than done, it was the most loving approach possible.
AQ's take: No expectations = real love. My failed relations prove it.
Oct 17, 2024‘Live true to your own heart, darling. Don’t ever worry what others think. Promise me, Bronnie,’ her voice now a barely audible whisper.
AQ's take: Live true, ignore others. Her whisper echoes my ignored gut.
Oct 17, 2024Finding the courage to act or surrender will never be as painful as lying on a deathbed with regrets.
AQ's take: Regrets dwarf fear. My past delays preview deathbed pain. Act now.
Oct 16, 2024Once we acknowledge that limited time is remaining, although we don’t know if that is years, weeks or hours, we are less driven by ego or by what other people think. Instead, we are more driven by what our hearts truly want. Acknowledging our inevitable, approaching death offers us the opportunity to find greater purpose and satisfaction in the time we have remaining.
AQ's take: Time's limit kills ego. My heart finally leads after years wasted on others' opinions.
Oct 16, 2024They say that everything comes down to love or fear: every emotion, every action, and every thought.
AQ's take: Love or fear? My decisions scream fear. Time to flip that script.
Oct 16, 2024