Use these as inspiration to make changes in your life while you can.
No one says on his or her deathbed, “Oh, if only I had spent more time at work!” Regret comes in relation to “what I did and what I did not do” throughout one’s life.
A Dominican friar from Colombia, Fr. Nelson Medina, OP, has assembled a list of the most common regrets he’s heard expressed by people he has accompanied at the end of their lives.
Why not use this list as an opportunity to do some soul-searching and commit to living a little differently? Then, all you have to do is pray and ask for the grace to live in this way so you can avoid having any of these regrets at the hour of your own death.
In this gallery of images, you will find the most common regrets heard on people’s deathbeds.
1. For the times I gave a bad example and people followed it.
2. For my indifference to the suffering of my neighbour.
3. For not offering words of praise, recognition, and encouragement to those who deserved and needed them.
4. For quickly taking credit for my successes, but blaming the circumstances for my failures.
5. For not respecting the innocence of a person, or for hindering the dreams of another.
6. For having spent money on things I did not need and never used.
7. For the times I took too long to forgive others and didn’t make a big enough effort to do it faster.
8. For taking advantage of those who loved me, simply for selfish motives.
9. For not guiding well those whom I should have educated better before it was too late
10. For not visiting or spending more time with my neighbour, because I didn’t find him sufficiently interesting, educated, or useful.
11. For wasting so much time on useless things — time which is lost forever
12. For enjoying flattery, even when I knew it was false.
13. For complaining more often than I gave thanks.
14. For the coarse, vulgar, or rude words that came out of my mouth.
15. For participating in conversations that mocked God, the Faith, or the Church.
16. For the many times I ran from the cross.
17. For the promises, I didn’t fulfil.
18. For the moments I could’ve and should’ve prayed more and, above all, loved more.
19. For ignoring Jesus.
20. For hurting my neighbour in one way or another.
21. For not loving enough – because I should’ve loved God and my neighbour much more
