There was a link going around on facebook this last week. It was about deathbed confessions and the most common regrets people had in their last days. As they say, hindsight is 20/20…and if we are able to learn from the regrets of others, then we can live a fuller life. The trick is to take them seriously, and to really think about them. What can we do to ensure that at the end of our days we know that we lived a life of no regrets. A life fully lived!
Here is the list of 5 regrets:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. (This was the most common regret of all)
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
There were 3 of them that I know I need to improve on right away. I live a life in fear so often, the fear of failure and the fear of other’s opinions…these can be so limiting. There are so many “inspirational quotes” out there, and I collect them…but so often I can’t take them to the next level and live them.
Not only is this fear something that can limit us, it is also the most used tool of the enemy. At least in my life. I get inspired by something that I read or hear, and decide to make a change…and then the niggling voice in my head starts to whisper. What will people think? What if your idea fails? What if you end up wasting too much money and resources…only to become a mess of regret? Your friends must be tired of hearing all these ideas…only to see nothing come of them. Here we go again!
A life of regret also steal our happiness. So much of what we do is a reflection of our personal state of being. If we aren’t happy, we also don’t try new things, and we don’t live a life of hope and courage. We aren’t always dependable in our relationships, and can cause hurt.
So, what can I do, personally, to see that my life is not full of regret? That I can get to my deathbed, and smile, knowing that I have lived my life to the fullest?
I can live a life knowing that God is in control…and following Him, even when I look crazy to others. His love and perfect plan, and the peace and joy that come with it, can guide me. What others think, and fear of failure, are not options anymore.
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