A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.-John Barrymore
Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable. We regret our decisions, choices (choice of mate, education, career, parenting). Regret feels bad because it implies a fault in personal action: You should have done it differently, hence self-blame is a component of regret (Connolly & Zeelenberg, 2002).
In her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing, Australian palliative caregiver Bronnie Ware, documented the top regrets of her dying patients, their insights on living, their dying epiphanies, and their top regrets. According to Bronnie Ware, there are 5 top Regrets of the Dying:
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 that I had let myself be happier.
Here are the top 30 quotes on regret: