Spending several decades as a hospice doctor, Dr. Ira Byock learned much about the process of death. Perhaps surprisingly, though, spending years among the dying taught him even more about living.

But here’s the good news, my friends: We do not have to wait until our own final days are upon us or until we are at the bedside of someone we care about to live out these end of life lessons. He’s distilled years of experience into four short but mighty statements that allow us all to be liberated from the burden of regret.