To be or not to be…Those famous words by William Shakespeare were supposed to let us know that Hamlet was a thinker and not just a person that just acts and reacts to what life puts on his path. Maybe that is why we should be more aware of HOW we live our lives, and to not just go through the motions of life and society.

There are moments in life where you might be surrounded by some things that might not be the happiest; illness or death. Those are usually the moments where we think about such things as what is life about? How can you make sure that, when your time comes, you have left something behind or lived the best life you could live?

I’ve always thought we could learn a lot from people who have lived a long time; they’ve usually seen more, done more and sometimes regretted more. I was very curious to know what people regretted doing most in their lives.

These are the top 5 regrets of the dying:

1. “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard”
2. “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings”
3. “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends”
4. “I wish I had let myself be happier”
5. “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself and not the life others expected of me”

People also regretted the following:

• “I wish I had spoken my mind more in order not to resent things later”
• “I wish I’d had resolved my conflicts more by being the bigger person”
• “I wish I’d saved more for my retirement”
• “I wish I had travelled more”
• “I wish I had learned another language”
• “I wish I had left a bad relationship sooner”
• “I wish I had put on sunscreen”

Sidenote: I am very much aware that all of these are first world problems. But I still hope that this will inspire some of you (and myself) to live a more conscious , sincere/ honest and fun life.