I was really moved by this blog post by Bonnie Ware and shared it with family and friends. Seems to me that it’s all about keeping the main thing, the main thing.
Bonnie is a nurse who has worked many years in palliative care. The following are the five most common regrets people who are dying shared with her:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself and 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.
Recently, I’ve thought quite a bit about whether clients might want to communicate this sort of message in their estate planning documents. Sometimes it seems we get caught up in the technical aspects of estate and tax planning and lose sight of key messages that we might want to express in our planning. I’m going to talk with some clients about this and see if it interests them. I’ll share what I learn.
Bonnie’s post is an insightful read. Also, Lifehacks has some good comments about what Bonnie shared. I encourage you to check them both out.
