1) “I wish I pursued my dreams and aspirations, and not the life others expected of me.”
2) “I wish I didn’t work so hard.”
3) “I wish I had the courage to express my feelings and speak my mind.”
4) “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”
5) “I wish I had let myself be happier.”
Some of the items on this list really resonated with me. What do you think?
1) Did ok on this one...pursued a career that was science-based (which I loved).
2) Only worked 40-45 hour weeks, and only worked two Saturdays, that I can recall. Had a fairly strong work-life balance!
4) I never seemed to be good at developing and maintaing close friendships. This is probably my greatest regret, other than not finding my wife earlier!
My largest regret was how my mom lived her life, and the fact that she could not/would not work to lift herself out of her origins and make herself happy. She was born to an abusive, alcoholic father, and married an emotionally abusive husband, staying with him for far too long. She retained all of the bad baggage in her life, including losing her first son around 1962 (never got over that one), losing her golden retriever, and her teaching partner, as well as her teaching job (she was forced to quit after going part time, and then her teaching partner died mid-year). She could have exercised, painted, joined music groups, gotten out of the house, and travelled, and eventually, found someone else to be with. But it was not to be. She followed in her mother's footsteps, being alone, afraid, and living a generally miserable life. A little work, a change in attitude, and a little luck, and her life could have ended up much better. She loved her school kids and me, as well as her dogs. At least she had that. I regret the fact that I couldn't ever help her be a more functional and happy person. It was not my responsibility, but I still feel bad.