The Three Most Common Regrets of the Dying

Every so often it’s good to get little reminders that serve as something of a reset button for what’s truly important in life.

I recently experienced that when a colleague of mine shared some thoughts he found online from a palliative care nurse.

As you can imagine, when each work day is spent caring for folks in the final weeks of their lives, the subject matter tends to dip below the surface to what’s truly meaningful. It’s a little ironic how what’s significant about life can become so clear when death is imminent.

It probably won’t surprise you, then, that in the fading hours of people’s lives, regrets often come to mind. The top three this nurse most often heard in her years with the dying were these:

1. They wish they hadn’t worked so much.
2. They wished they would have spent more time with their family.
3. They wish they would have cultivated deeper relationships with their friends.

As I reflected on this list, I had one recurring thought: the most common deathbed regrets are usually within our ability to change. And little adjustments can pay big dividends.

I thought about what a difference it would make if I spent just an extra 10 minutes with my wife and kids each day.

Or to make an extra phone call to a friend once in a while.

Or to spend an extra bit of time with God in prayer or His word in the morning.

Just a few small changes.

What if that’s all it took to someday turn what might otherwise be our deepest regrets into our greatest treasures?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, friendship, kids, marriage July 2, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura