Plan to Prevent Future Regrets

If you’re already retired, one way to plan for a fulfilling retirement is to contemplate the regrets you might have when you’re too old to do anything about them. Imagine you’re in your final year or two, or even on your deathbed. What would you wish you had done—or not done?

Now think, what can you do to help prevent these regrets? To help answer this question, I reviewed several online reports that included insights from a psychologist, hospice workers, a gerontologist, and surveys.

In order to avoid an exercise in futility, I focused on the regrets that retirees can do something about in the years they have left. By keeping the focus on what could be changed moving forward, I left out regrets such as not having children or saving more when you were younger. While these can indeed be painful regrets, retirees can’t go back and relive their lives (although these regrets might inspire retirees to take alternative actions that address these pains). I also reflected on my own lived experience and that of close relatives and friends in their 70s and 80s.

10 Action Steps To Avoid Common Regrets For Retirees

That being said, here’s my curated list of 10 realistic actions you can take that can help you address any regrets you could potentially feel in your retirement years:

1. Spending more time with the people you love.
2. Expressing your feelings or saying “I love you” to the people who matter most to you.
3. Making amends with estranged relatives or good friends, or releasing grudges you may be holding.
4. Staying in touch with old friends.
5. Taking better care of yourself.
6. Being a better spouse or partner.
7. Doing more to help others.
8. Taking more risks and not fearing failure or what others might think.
9. Not worrying about things you have no control over or things that might never happen.
10. Pursuing more of your dreams. This last one can take many forms, including traveling more, spending more time on interests and hobbies, or focusing more energy on any other item on this list.

Which of these actions resonate with you? The good news is that it’s never too late to take these action steps, no matter how old you are. And many actions don’t involve spending lots of money. For example, my wife and I have been prioritizing making memories with family members and reconnecting with old friends.

There’s More!

If you want more ideas or nuances on the above suggestions, you can read the articles below that I reviewed. There’s significant overlap among these articles, but they also contain more regrets and nuances than I’ve discussed here.

• 15 Things We Regret in Old Age
• Top 24 Things Dying People Regret on Their Deathbed
• The 9 Most Common Regrets People Have at the End of Life
• How to Live Life Without Major Regrets: 8 Lessons From Older Americans

One issue not noted above are financial regrets. That’s because this article is aimed primarily at retirees—people who’ve already made the most important financial decisions needed for retirement, who realistically don’t have “do-overs,” and who’ve hopefully made the necessary adjustments in their financial lives.

If you’re not yet retired, there are actions you may still be able take to avoid regrets and unhappiness with your retirement finances. But that’s a list for another day.

No matter whether you’re retired or nearing retirement, take the time to plan ahead for your happiness and fulfillment in retirement. It could make all the difference in the world.