16.
“I did a one-month elective in palliative care as a student. I enjoyed doing my best to make people feel as comfortable as possible in this difficult time of their lives. I felt it was very rewarding. I met a lot of different people at the end of life, and their biggest regrets and best memories conversation came up often. I would say top three I heard the most were:”
“1. I shouldn’t have spent so much energy on negative emotions or hatred. The things that made me angry now seem completely trivial, and I wish I had spent my time being more happy and positive in life.
2. I should have worked less, worried less, and spent more time doing things I like with people I love (similar to #1).
3. Having kids. Many people who didn’t have kids said it was their biggest regret not giving it a chance, never finding the right person, realizing it was too late, etc. I would say ‘Not meeting my grandkids’ or ‘Not being there to see my grandkids grow up’ came up often, too.
I heard a lot of different stories, but those were by far the most common. I also heard a few times, ‘I liked this girl/guy when I was young. I should have been brave and asked them out. Life could have been very different. I will never know unless I tried.'”
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