What Teachings Do Those Who Have Lived a Lifetime Leave Us?

What Teachings Do Those Who Have Lived a Lifetime Leave Us?

Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who worked with terminally ill patients, asked her patients a revealing question: What do they wish they had done or not done in their lives? She was amazed by the repetition of certain messages, which led her to collect five frequently repeated phrases, the first being the most significant:

• I wish I had had the courage to do what I really wanted to do and not what others expected me to do.

• I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

• I wish I had the courage to express what I really felt.

• I would have liked to have contact with my friends again.

• I would have liked to have been happier.

As Ware explained, people don't regret the actions they took, but the opportunities they missed, not acting on their wishes, not expressing their feelings, and not having maintained meaningful relationships. This is the profound message found in the lives of those who have accumulated experiences over the years: take action, do what you feel you need to do. As Niccolò Machiavelli said, "It is better to do and repent than not to do and repent."

We can imagine our lives as a scale in which one end represents our ideas and the other our experiences. To achieve self-realization, we must not allow ideas to outweigh experiences. True self-realization comes from turning our ideas into actions.

We are immersed in a physical world, and action is the tool that allows us to forge our existence. Our "I" is built not only with ideas, but mainly with experiences. As we carry out our ideas, we create an authentic and tangible "me." After all, what would be the purpose of living in a material world if we did not actively participate in it?

This concept is closely related to the well-known "comfort zone". To experience real growth, we must push the boundaries of our comfort zone, into the unknown, into the "learning zone." This is where we can put our ideas into practice, where we can act and make mistakes. Precisely through these mistakes, we learn and grow.

The story of Thomas Edison is an emblematic example. When he invented the light bulb, he did not succeed at first, not even in his first attempts. He made more than a thousand attempts before succeeding. When a disciple asked him why he persisted despite so many failures, Edison replied, "They are not failures, I have discovered a thousand ways not to make a light bulb." His perseverance eventually led him to create the first light bulb.

Experience allows us to achieve our goals and realize our dreams. In the words of Thomas Alva Edison, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent sweat."

In short, people who have lived a lifetime teach us that action is the key to avoiding future regrets. We must balance our ideas with experiences and dare to leave our comfort zone. Through experience and action, we can forge our lives and achieve whatever we set our minds to.