Top 5 regrets

Bronnie Ware, a nurse who works with the dying, has recorded the top five regrets people have on their deathbeds.

1. "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me." Bronnie notes that most people felt they wasted their healthy youths, and were remorseful for not taking advantage of the things they were able to do.

2. "I wish I hadn't worked so hard." Ware says she heard this from every male patient she nursed. Since her patients tend to be from an older generation where many women didn't work, it's not surprising.

3. " I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings." Apparently some of Bronnie's patients became ill from resentment and anger they had from unexpressed feelings. And "as a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming."

4. "I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends." Many patients regretted losing touch with good friends, who they were unable to track down and contact in their final days.

5. "I wish that I had let myself be happier." While letting oneself be happy should be easy, work, relationships and general life can bring us down. Sometimes it's worth stepping back and examining what's actually worth getting upset over.