Top Five Regrets of the Dying

Top five regrets of the dyingHere are the top five regrets of the dying:
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.
(Source) (The book at Amazon)

This fits with what I keep telling people that happens to complain about being unhappy around me. 

• How can you possibly be happy in your life when you live someone else's life?
• Working is great since it gives your life a meaning and an income, but if you live to work then something is wrong with your priorities.
• People can't read your mind. Things, such as life getting better, will not happen unless you speak up.
• Having some sort of social network is important for your health as well as your mood. How it looks is on the other hand up to you. Some people needs lots of friends others, like me, need only a few. 
• You can make the choice to be happy. Happiness is a state of mind, not an external thing or gadget.

Most people that talk about being unhappy also have a problem with staying in or being in control of their lives. They don't have control since they are living up to other people's expectations, or something have happened out of their control or they don't dare to take control. 


At least that's how I see it. 


I'm no different than people in general. The worst times in my life has been when I couldn't stay in control of my own happiness, my own life, for some reason. My illnesses is a good example. I was miserable and depressed when it all started since the illnesses dictated what I could and could not do. The turning point came when I learned to take control of my own happiness again and find ways to be both ill and happy.