Eventually, most of us arrive at a similar, if not the same, understanding of life.

The best summary of this “understanding” can be found in Bronnie Ware’s Regrets of The Dying:

1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish I had let myself be happier.

When you begin to understand these regrets and understand what is most important to you in life, you start to live differently and more aligned with your authentic Self.

But here’s the thing, you have to come to this realization on your own.

’ve been writing, recording, and talking about this for the last few years now, yet most readers are still finding their way to their own understandings. And I’m still working on implementing and living in a way that is more and more aligned with my authentic life—allowing me to avoid Ware’s five regrets. Living our authentic lives is an evolution, after all.
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I was listening to a recent episode of Modern Wisdom with Chris Bumstead as the guest, and he and the host, Chris Williamson, brought up a great point that fits into today’s post: sometimes, people need to go through the “thing” they eventually realize will no longer serve them to find contentment, happiness, or purpose.

For example, early in adulthood, someone might be motivated by a chip on their shoulder—say they were bullied when they were a child. This chip on their shoulder, although a negative emotion and not something healthy to hold onto forever, helped motivate them to work hard, grind, and find a level of “success” that provided them the stability to realize that the chip on their shoulder would actually keep them from living a happy and fulfilled life. Without the chip, they may never have gotten to a point in life where they could begin to understand what so many people come to realize is most important.

The path to understanding is different for everyone. Hopefully, with efforts like my Daily Notes, the AlignedLife podcast, and shows like Modern Wisdom, we can help bring more awareness to the understanding most of us eventually get to and help people come to their understanding sooner than they would without it.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC