The most common deathbed regret that can change your perspective on life
<p>A healthcare professional has shared the most common life regret she hears from people who are on their deathbed.</p>
<p>Camilla Rowland, CEO of Palliative Care Australia, said that "death is the last taboo" in this age of over-sharing online, and is trying to break down that stigma by helping people reevaluate how they go about their day-to-day lives.</p>
<p>She told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/surprisingly-common-deathbed-regret-that-could-change-how-you-live/news-story/209319c4137122812f0e91e52b38cb6c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>, “We’ve become so great at discussing things that used to be taboo, but we’ve lost the ability to talk about death with one another.”</p>
<p>After a 30-year career in palliative care, Ms Rowland said there is one regret she hears continuously from people who are at the end of their life.</p>
<p>“Without a doubt, the regret I’ve heard time and time again is that people wish they’d spent less time working, and more time with the people they love,” she says.</p>
<p>“The other thing people might find surprising is that money doesn’t seem to have any effect on the way you look back at your life at the end."</p>
<p>“I once looked after an incredibly wealthy man at the end of his life and he had been one of those really busy guys – working 18 hours a day, achieving great success."</p>
<p>“I remember him saying to me: ‘You know what? I would give up all my boats, my houses, everything that I have just to have spent more time with my kids when they were young.’ I heard that time and time again from people."</p>
<p>“No matter which walk of life they were from, it was the quality of their relationships that mattered above all else.”</p>
<p>While Ms Rowland knows that talking about death and the end of our lives is a morbid, difficult topic, she says it's important to have those discussions with the people closest to us.</p>
<p>Having these conversations can help us share our end-of-life wishes with our family and friends, but also help us learn how to truly appreciate life from the people who came before us.</p>
<p>“When I think of those common deathbed regrets that pop up repeatedly, it’s a great reminder for us all to live more in the moment, with the people who matter most.”</p>
<p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>
