In my family, death was never a subject that was avoided at the dinner table. So it came as no surprise when my mom sent my sister and I an article from The Guardian called “Top Five Regrets of the Dying” – it discusses the stories collected by a palliative care nurse over her lengthy career.

The number one regret of dying people was/is: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

I’ll just let that sink in for everyone. Especially you, parents who are un-accepting of your child’s passion for haiku poetry.

The second regret was/is: “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

[Editor’s note: Kurt, are you reading this post?]

Hopefully these two stunning – or not so stunning – realizations inspire you to change your life (or pat yourself on the back for living a regret-free existence!). If not, perhaps check out this blog post by Seth Godin, who breaks down the false-narrative of how so many of us perceive happiness.

One of my mentors recommends that our lives should be about collecting stories to tell our grandchildren. It’s a great message, for sure. And these are some of the stories that I hope to collect in my life.

Finally, let none of us regret or lament a shortcoming of kindness. After all, if the stories that we collect aren’t nice ones then we aren’t going to have too many people by our sides as we reflect on our lives lived.