A Palliative Nurse Wrote a Viral Essay where She Shared the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

I want to add one thing to her list.

Photo by Bret Kavanaugh on Unsplash

In 2009, Bronnie Ware, a palliative nurse in Australia, wrote a viral essay in which she shared the epiphanies of her dying patients. According to Ware, the 5 top regrets were as follows:

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 I had let myself be happier.

I find items on this list deeply relatable, so I can’t imagine how much more remorseful I would feel later in life if I failed to course-correct while I have the chance.

But in reflecting on this powerful list, there is one item that I want to add: I wish I had expressed my gratitude more.

Photo by Courtney Hedger on Unsplash

I don’t think I’m alone in my opinion. One of my favorite authors, Cheryl Strayed, shares this sentiment in the last chapter of her book “Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice…