The 10 Most Common Deathbed Regrets – And How to Avoid Them While You Still Can

What if you could fast-forward to the end of your life… and ask your future self for advice?

Bronnie Ware, an Australian palliative nurse, did exactly that. After years of caring for dying patients, she recorded their most common regrets in her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. The results were heartbreaking—and enlightening.

The good news? You don’t have to wait until your final days to live without regrets. Here’s The 10 Most Common Deathbed Regrets, what the dying wish they’d known sooner, and how you can course-correct today.

1. "I Wish I’d Lived a Life True to Myself" The 10 Most Common Deathbed Regrets

Regret: Living for others’ expectations instead of their own desires.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A woman stayed in a loveless marriage for 30 years to please her family and kids.

• Workplace: A lawyer pursued corporate law to impress his father—but hated every day.

• Life Decisions: An artist gave up painting because "it wasn’t a real job".

• Self-Esteem: A woman never pursued hier dream of traveling because she feared judgment.

• Health: A man ignored chronic stress until it became severe illness.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: Where am I betraying myself to please others?

2. "I Wish I Hadn’t Worked So Hard"

Regret: Sacrificing family, health, and happiness for career success.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A CEO missed his daughter’s entire childhood.

• Workplace: A banker worked 80-hour weeks—then had a stroke at 50.

• Life Decisions: A woman postponed retirement until she was too ill to enjoy it.

• Self-Esteem: A man tied his worth to promotions—then felt empty at the top.

• Health: A startup founder burned out before his company even took off.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: What priceless moments am I trading for productivity?

3. "I Wish I’d Expressed My Feelings More"

Regret: Staying silent to avoid conflict—leading to lifelong resentment.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A man never told his father he loved him before he passed.

• Workplace: An employee endured bullying for years without speaking up.

• Life Decisions: A woman stayed silent about her unhappiness until divorce.

• Self-Esteem: A man never set boundaries with colleagues or toxic friends.

• Health: A woman suppressed grief until it turned into depression.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: What truth have I been too afraid to say?

4. "I Wish I’d Stayed in Touch With Friends"

Regret: Letting meaningful friendships fade due to busyness.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A woman lost her best friend to cancer—without reconciling.

• Workplace: A man prioritized networking over lifelong friendships.

• Life Decisions: A couple moved abroad and never maintained old bonds.

• Self-Esteem: A woman isolated herself after a breakup.

• Health: A man regretted dying alone after pushing people away.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: Who do I need to reconnect with today?

5. "I Wish I’d Let Myself Be Happier"

Regret: Choosing familiarity over joy.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A woman stayed in a toxic relationship because change felt scary.

• Workplace: A man stayed in a dead-end job because it was "safe."

• Life Decisions: A couple never traveled, always waiting for "the right time."

• Self-Esteem: A woman never pursued her passion because she feared failure.

• Health: A man ignored his depression, thinking he "should" be happy and he can handle that himself.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: What unnecessary suffering am I clinging to?

6. "I Wish I’d Taken Better Care of My Health"

Regret: Ignoring health until it was too late.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A father missed his son’s wedding due to preventable illness.

• Workplace: A woman worked through chronic pain until she became disabled.

• Life Decisions: A man ignored heart disease symptoms until a fatal heart attack.

• Self-Esteem: A woman hated her body but never made sustainable changes.

• Health: A man abused alcohol to cope with stress—destroying his liver.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: What’s one small health change I can make today?

7. "I Wish I’d Taken More Risks"

Regret: Letting fear dictate their life.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A man never confessed his love—and she married someone else.

• Workplace: A man turned down a dream job abroad out of fear.

• Life Decisions: A couple never started the business they always talked about.

• Self-Esteem: A man never pursued acting because he feared rejection.

• Health: A woman postponed therapy until her anxiety became crippling.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: What would I do if I weren’t afraid?

8. "I Wish I’d Left a Legacy"

Regret: Chasing money over meaning.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A father regretted never teaching his kids his values.

• Workplace: A CEO realized no one would remember his profits.

• Life Decisions: A woman donated late in life—wishing she’d started sooner.

• Self-Esteem: A man never wrote the book he always wanted to.

• Health: A woman wished she’d volunteered instead of just working.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: How do I want to be remembered?

9. "I Wish I’d Forgiven Sooner"

Regret: Holding onto grudges that only hurt themselves.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A woman never reconciled with her sister before she died.

• Workplace: A man held onto resentment toward a colleague for decades.

• Life Decisions: A couple divorced bitterly—wasting years in anger.

• Self-Esteem: A man never forgave himself for a past mistake.

• Health: A woman’s chronic stress stemmed from unforgiveness.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: Who—including myself—do I need to forgive?

10. "I Wish I’d Realized I Was Enough"

Regret: Spending a lifetime trying to prove their worth.

Real-Life Examples:

• Relationships: A woman stayed with an abusive partner because she felt unworthy.

• Workplace: A man worked himself to exhaustion to feel validated.

• Life Decisions: A woman never pursued her dreams because she felt "not good enough."

• Self-Esteem: A man compared himself to others until his final days.

• Health: A woman neglected self-care because she didn’t believe she deserved it.

👉🏼 Ask Yourself: What if I decided I’m enough—right now?

Final Question:

Which of These Regrets Will You Not Have?

Your life is being written today. The dying don’t regret risks that didn’t pan out—they regret risks never taken.

If you’re in Sheung Wan, Central Hong Kong and ready to design a life without regrets, let’s begin. Why wait until your final days to live fully?

📞 WhatsApp me to book your therapy session to understand the patterns and try to solve them. Your future self is waiting.

📍 THE PROCESS – Sheung Wan, Central HK | https://www.theprocess-hk.com/

"Youth is a gift. Wisdom is a choice. What will you choose today?"

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