

Regrets of the Dying - worldvoyageur
http://inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html

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greggman
I never know how much to attribute to these kinds of stories. It's easy to say
you'd have risked more when you know you are about to die. For example, if you
knew you were going to die in 2 months would you care about HIV? Would you
care about pissing someone off? Would you care about planning for your future
(ie, working and saving for retirement?), Would put any money in a savings
account? Or save for that house? Would you stay in a stable job?

Once you are a just a few months from dying it's easier to regret things
without fear because you know you're going to die soon. But when you don't
know you're going to die soon then all of a sudden you'd likely make different
choices. Choices that have few negative repercussions.

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iamnafets
Totally agree with all the premises here: more time with loved ones, be happy,
etc. But to nitpick...

I've always wonder if this is _valid_. I think it's fairly established that
people who are dying have these feelings, but is that to be the guiding
principal for our lives? If I feel something else is more important for 30
years of my lifetime, am I wrong because in the last 10 years I regret it?

I'm not sure if the objective function of my life is to minimize regret, it
seems much more complicated than that. Furthermore, I'm not convinced that
incremental time spent with loved ones will do much to assuage the pain of not
having felt like it was "enough".

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wrt54g
Posts like this always depress me. I spend all my time in class or working,
and for no use - my last 8 months of work were removed last week due to a
bureaucratic decision - not the first time, so I can't argue that my life has
any purpose. I don't really have any friends, have had few opportunities to
collect memories or feelings, etc. I'm about to graduate, move 1000 miles away
and move on, so I sort of have this assumption that everything will change,
but I know myself well enough to know that in all likelihood I will end up
playing video games by myself every night.

~~~
koningrobot
Remember, a classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody
wants to read. Spending time with family/relatives/friends is something that
everybody wants to have done and nobody wants to do. Hard work is something
that everybody wants to have done and nobody wants to do. Don't be afraid to
just do what makes you feel good (unless it causes others significant
trouble), regardless of what some sacred social convention dictates.

Remember also that the grass is always less brown on the other side. The
moment you entertain the thought that some other situation would be better,
you suffer. If you think some choice you made in the past was a bad one, it
might be because you've only seen the consequences of the one option you
chose. The other options might have been just as bad.

It's already hard enough to stay sane here on planet shithole _without_
romanticizing Things As They Aren't.

