Article posted Thursday, August 7, 2014 10:15am

The psychology of dying is not often discussed, but an Australian nurse who worked with terminally ill patients did just that. This snippet is not real science, but it does tell us something about the psychology of dying. She wrote a book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. She listened carefully to what people told her about their regrets as they looked back on their lives. Five of them have important lessons for all of us.

1. “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

2. “I wish I hadn’t worked 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 I had let myself be happier.”

It’s not too late for us. (The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bonnie Ware, 2012, Hay House; Reprints Edition)