There was no mention of more sex or bungee jumps, more money or more fame. A Australian palliative nurse named Bronnie Ware has counselled the dying in their last days and revealed the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog which later became a book called the Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

I think of this often when I feel my life is in need of change, or is about to move in a new direction. It gives me self awareness and courage to move forward in an authentic way. I will not offer the insight or explanation she provided to each of the following regrets. I will instead leave them to you to take in and see how they might apply to your life.

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Somewhere in these five statements lies a rich true existence.

If you want to read more from Bronnie Ware's observations, visit her blog page.