Don’t Die with Regrets: Why Chasing Your Dreams Is the Only Way to Truly Live

A hospital study once interviewed 100 elderly people on their deathbeds who were asked to share their biggest regrets in life. Almost all of them said they didn’t regret the things they did, but the things they didn’t do, the risks they never took, and the dreams they never chased.

Will your final words be, “If only I had…”?

Why are you here? Life isn’t just about working, waiting for the weekend, and paying rent. Everyone on this planet has a gift. Do you have the courage to chase the dream that chose you? The one that stirs your soul and pushes you forward? Or will you let it slip away?

I once learned something surprising from a pilot. He told me, “Most passengers think it’s dangerous for planes to be in the air. But actually, it’s more dangerous for a plane to stay on the ground.”

That blew my mind.

He explained: “It may sound strange, but when a plane sits on the ground too long, it starts to rust, malfunction, and fall apart faster than if it were flying.”

And that’s when it hit me: Planes were made to fly- and people were made to live out their dreams and soar. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is living your life on the ground, and never taking off.

(Photo: shutterstock)

Many of us fear thieves who break in at night to steal our valuables- but there’s a thief in your head, and he wants your dreams. His name is doubt, and he’s the most prolific dream killer in history- far more dangerous than failure.

There are so many people living in “kind of” mode. You “kind of” want change. You “kind of” want a new life. But when you only kind of want something, you’ll only ever get kind of results.

Marriage, weight loss, parenting, changing careers- it's not enough to simply want it. You need to fight for it with everything you’ve got. There’s no such thing as a smooth mountain. If you want to reach the top, you’ve got to climb the sharp edges.

Steven Spielberg got rejected from film school. Not once. Not twice. But three times. Yet he kept going. Struggle and criticism are the price of greatness. It’s a law of the universe. No person escapes it.

Pain is part of life but you get to choose your pain:

• The pain of pursuing your dreams,

• Or the pain of living with regret.

My advice? Don’t think twice. You’ve been given a gift called life. Don’t waste it. You are not defined by your past- you are reborn in every moment. Own it now.