I was sent a book recently called "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying," by Bronnie Ware. She worked in a palliative care setting and as such was surrounded by people who often spoke about their most common regrets.

Having had my own diagnosis of cancer, I am all too aware of how when you feel as if you are fighting for your life, you can have a revised life view.

In Bonnie's article, which has been translated and read by so many, is the idea that perhaps, without the pressure of a life-threatening diagnosis, or being in palliative care knowing one is dying, we can take the moment to ask ourself: are we living the life we are meant to? Are we making mindful decisions for most of the time?

I would hazard a guess that many of us go along day by day without taking the time to ask ourself the really important questions that we should be.

Below are the top 5 regrets taken from her article that made me take a moment yet again and ask myself what might be on my list of regrets.

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

When I was first diagnosed with my cancer, after I climbed out of the fear and the anger, I began to see with more clarity some of my own mistakes and pitfalls that were defining my life. During my diagnosis and treatment with the support of CTV, I co-wrote and co-produced a documentary called "Run Your Own Race". During the making of the documentary, my children talked about their own feelings. And while it took my breath away to hear my eldest say that breast cancer was the best thing that ever happened to our relationship, I heard her loud and clear.

I knew what she was saying: that while emotionally, I was always available to her, my long hours at work often kept me away physically from the family. No matter how much I called our time spent so called "quality time," an absent parent is simply absent. It gave me the opportunity to realize that many times I did not think about the impact of my decisions and my schedule on my own family.
 
For me, I am fortunate enough to look at the regrets I had and turn them into opportunities. My own life lessons include asking myself the hard questions on a regular basis even if I don't like the answers. So my top 5 list of opportunities includes the following:

1. Make decisions mindfully - recognize that when you are saying no, it is because you are saying yes to that other side that is more important. Don't be afraid to say no.

2. It is never too late to say you are sorry and open yourself up to others.

3.Take the time for yourself - stop feeling guilty for the all so important me time. That time is critical to keep yourself whole and balanced.

4. Don't be afraid to clear the landscape of those things and people that weigh you down.

5.At the end of the day, be able to look in the mirror and be proud of who you are and if you don't feel that way- then forgive yourself and start again.

While what I do is so much part of who I am, it truly is the love and support of family and friends that makes life really what it is- at least to me. We all get to make choices, but remember to make those choices and not to let life take the decision making away from you.

As we head into another year, I am grateful for the opportunity to try and make those decisions mindful and meaningful. I wish you all the same.

WATCH: My New Year's chat on Canada AM