10 things you may regret when you get older

In your declining years, you run the risk of greatly regretting that …

…Followed by the crowd in the hope of approval

Chances are good that you will regret every time you said yes when you really wanted to say no. The fact that in the end they became not themselves, but someone else – both physically and emotionally – in the hope of impressing others, earning their approval and “fitting” into the environment or party. That you didn’t have the courage and confidence to do what your soul really lay for, and you gave up under the yoke of the environment and circumstances.

… did not take advantage of all possible chances

A new specialty, work in an unfamiliar field, moving to another country – all this involves a fair amount of risk. Risk is the opposite of chance. Perhaps you felt that the risk and discomfort of a possible failure were too high, and you did not dare to invite someone you like on a date, have an interview in a cool company, leave the person with whom you feel bad, swim freely, apologize to those who have been offended…

If you don’t, then most likely you will be tormented by the question “what would happen if …?” And regret missed opportunities.

… neglected their health

Advice on the importance of exercising, eating right, getting enough sleep, drinking clean water, and giving up bad habits has probably already gotten on your nerves. And yet, the harm of an unhealthy lifestyle for our health is difficult to overestimate: it gradually destroys our body and brain, leads to numerous problems, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The good news is that preventing this is easier than dealing with the consequences later. And even if your lifestyle is far from healthy, you should not sprinkle ashes on your head: try to take the first step towards healthy habits right now. And don’t let your mind fool you by giving you more and more “compelling” reasons not to go for a run tonight and stay up early.

… lived inside the “bubble”

In a sense, this refers to the chances already mentioned earlier – those that you may be missing right now. Staying in your “bubble” means depriving yourself of the opportunity to make new friends, eat the same thing in the same restaurants. Working in the same job all your life, clinging to relationships where you’re unhappy just so you don’t end up alone. Doing the same thing for years. Do not try, do not risk, do not allow yourself. Most likely, you will regret all this one day.

…betrayed their dream

It can be anything: a memoir that you talked about so much but never sat down to write, a guitar that you never learned to play. The Disneyland trip you promised your kids, and then they grew up. Unfulfilled dreams, goals that you forgot about, hobbies that you did not devote time to.

… Complained endlessly

There were, are and will be problems at all times: as they joke on the Internet, “as recent events have shown, the penultimate ones were better.” You can and should talk about them – but do not complain for years, doing nothing and dragging out an unhappy life, but look for a way out of the situation, a way to change everything for the better.

No one argues, life is difficult – but there are moments of joy in it, and it is on them that you should concentrate. Look for the good, focus on it and change what you don’t like.

…neglected relationships

Making friends isn’t all that difficult – at least for those who don’t have obvious problems with social interactions. It is much more difficult to build a truly deep, strong connection that will last for years. This requires our efforts and time, but if this is not done, in old age you will regret that you missed all those wonderful people who met on the way.

… Read a little

The key to knowledge, the ability to move to other worlds, to live many different lives besides your own, the pleasure that is always at hand, the nourishment for the imagination – this is the great gift of books. And, no matter what anyone says, books can make us not only smarter, but also kinder, better, wiser. Of course, not all, the main thing is to spend due time and effort on their selection and study.

To deprive yourself of all this is a loss and a reason for regret.

…Not Played Enough

We have been taught for a long time that games are “not serious”, this activity should be left to children. It’s not: read or listen to University of Houston psychology professor Brené Brown – she has a lot to say about how important games are to our mental health, relationships with others, and our ability to create.

Games can be very different, to your taste. This is a pillow fight, and a table-top evening, and arm wrestling, and home theater, and charades, and the opportunity to just fool around with friends and relatives. The main thing is to keep playing to maintain your mental health, get rid of stress and strengthen bonds with others.

…Too addicted to work

Nowadays, it is no coincidence that there is so much talk about the so-called “work-life balance”, the balance between work and the rest of life: there are more and more workaholics, vacations are getting shorter, in some countries women are no longer paid for parental leave. All this leads to the fact that most of us work more and more. And in old age, he regrets it very much.

According to palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware, author of the best-selling book Five Revelations About Life, or What People Regret Before They Die, all the male patients she cared for complained about the fact that work missed their children’s growing up and little enjoy the company of a loved one.

Perhaps now it seems to you that changing your life is an impossible task: it takes too much effort, impossible steps. But, in essence, it’s about listening to yourself, making informed decisions, getting rid of the excess, leaving what is important, and enjoying it every day.