highlights
25 highlights saved, filed under philosophy.
- 01
I 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.
- 02
No-one else can make us happy or unhappy, unless we allow him or her to.
- 03
This regret—wishing they had been true to themselves—was the most common one of all.
- 04
Every 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.
- 05
Be who you are, find balance, speak honestly, value those you love, and allow yourself to be happy.
- 06
The 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.
- 07
‘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.
- 08
REGRET 5: I wish I had let myself be happier
- 09
But 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.
- 10
REGRET 4: I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends
- 11
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
- 12
I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
- 13
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
- 14
‘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.’
- 15
Life 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.’
- 16
No-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.’
- 17
Of 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.
- 18
It 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.
- 19
The 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.
- 20
The most important thing I have learnt in life though, the absolutely most important, is that compassion starts with yourself.
- 21
We 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.
- 22
‘Live true to your own heart, darling. Don’t ever worry what others think. Promise me, Bronnie,’ her voice now a barely audible whisper.
- 23
Finding the courage to act or surrender will never be as painful as lying on a deathbed with regrets.
- 24
Once 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.
- 25
They say that everything comes down to love or fear: every emotion, every action, and every thought.