Chapter Twenty Four

Don’t Have Any Regrets at Your Deathbed

Imagine yourself as an 80-year-old at your deathbed. If you regret that you did not endeavour and achieve anything in your life, this realization would be more painful than having encountered failures during your lifetime. In fact, man’s biggest mistake lies in not attempting anything during his lifetime and regretting this during his old age. Most of the people have regrets at the end of their life about their careers or other issues—for not having done certain things in the past. Probably, they failed to do things due to their negligence or due to challenges arising out of the external environment.

No one loves to grow old, but we cannot avoid it as life is a cycle of birth, growth and death. According to Hindu philosophy, there are three people who sustain human life. They are Lord Brahma (the creator), Lord Vishnu (the preserver) and Lord Shiva (the destroyer).

To avoid regrets in your later life, plan your life now itself; execute your tasks effectively and accomplish whatever is possible. You must develop the habit of doing things regularly without postponing things. In fact, procrastination is the thief of time. People are expected to do certain things at certain stages of life. Failure to do so leads to regret at the deathbed. Besides, at an old age, people must not do certain things that will trouble them. They must be careful in what they do. They must do everything with the right attitude, in order to grow and help others grow during their prime age.

It is rightly said, ‘Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be. Because you only have one life and one chance to do it all’. Life is very short. Make it sweet. Do what best you can. Leave no room for regrets later on. Manage your time properly and deliver the goods consistently. Do things regularly without postponing them. Remember one thing in your life—if you waste one second you waste one second of your precious life. Therefore, make your life meaningful by balancing your personal, professional and social life.

It is a fact that a young man looks at the future, a middle-aged man looks at the present and the old man looks at the past. Hence, give a direction to your life and provide meaning to your life. If you want to leave this world peacefully do your best, give your best and make a difference in the lives of others as we are not sure of another life. Albert Pine rightly noted, ‘What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal’.

Add Value to Your Life

God has given life to everyone. It is a chance, an opportunity and a blessing to each one of us to lead our lives the way we want to. Some people feel blessed to live while others feel cursed to live the life given by God. Frederick Langbridge quoted, ‘Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars’. It just depends from person to person. Our life depends upon our activities and attitude. Life is an adventure full of ups and downs. It is full of challenges. We can give meaning to our lives by overcoming the challenges.

Several great people were born in this world. God sent them to accomplish certain tasks. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr fought for the rights of the blacks, Mother Teresa served the lepers and Mahatma Gandhi fought for India’s independence and also spread the message of peace and non-violence. Many great scientists such as Newton, Einstein and Edison were born to give us scientific inventions. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook had the magnificent thought to connect people online. Similarly, we also have some tasks to achieve. The sooner we realize them, we can make miracles and start enjoying our lives.

Tips to Add Value To Your Life

There are many ways by which we can live happily and make our lives much better. Here are some tips:

• Keep your mind peaceful. Meditate or do yoga daily for some time as it enhances patience and provides you with peace.
• Lead an adventurous life. Life without adventure is like a rose without thorns. Adventurous people live every moment of their lives with excitement.
• Enjoy every moment of your life. Provide meaning to it by adding value.
• Make use of your time productively as time is precious.
• Live to love; live to be happy and make others happy—this is one of the essential laws of life. Love, hate and life all are four letter words. If you spend time in hating a person, you end up in a fiasco. However, if you spend time loving a person, life is more meaningful as your life is filled with joy and happiness.
• The things which give us pain and disappointments will make us strong and our life will be interesting. In fact, whenever we feel pressure we must start thinking that there is a hidden pleasure in it. As Joseph Addison rightly said, ‘Our real blessings often appear to us in the shapes of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience, and we soon shall see them in their proper figures’.
• Be ambitious but not overambitious. Set goals, work on it. Don’t divert your mind. Learn to believe and live in your dreams. You will definitely get what you want.
• You must do things in such a way that you are remembered forever in this world. It is not the quantity of life that counts but the quality of life.
• The people who spend their lives for themselves, unmindful of others and not adding any value, are not counted upon at the end. Hence, it is essential to spend some time with others for developing relations and making a difference in the lives of others.
• Learn to live in the present as the past cannot be changed and the future cannot be predicted. Many people brood about their bitter past and think about an unpredictable future, thus leading things nowhere.
• Be happy with what you have and what God has given to you. Never blame others and circumstances. Enjoy what you have and what has been given to you by God.
• Don’t develop greed for wealth as wealth is like water which doesn’t remain in our hands. We came to this world bringing nothing, and we will leave this world by leaving with our good deeds and reputation.
• Always try to be happy. Happiness cheers you. Being happy motivates you to work hard towards success. Helen Keller quoted, ‘When one door of happiness closes, another opens: but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us’. Look at the door of happiness and open it.
• You will always get what you deserve, not what you desire. Life doesn’t go the way we want. However, you must work with what you have to grow in your life.

Follow these tips and add value to your life regularly. Work with what you have rather than blaming others constantly. All these tips will help you avoid regrets at your deathbed.