All my life, I've heard the old saying, "Tell the truth...and the truth will set you free!" And I've tried my darnedest to abide by those words of wisdom. I bet you have, too. Or if you didn't, you probably felt guilty about it...anyway...

The other day, I was busy telling it like it is...bemoaning some of the circumstances in my life that are not exactly the way I want them to be. It was a long list and I won't bore you with the details here...and besides...Bertha would probably jump on her soapbox (just like she did then) if I did.

Well, as I said...the words were hardly out of my mouth before Bertha had retrieved a soapbox from under my desk and started her dissertation. She reminded me that my thoughts and the feelings of my thoughts are creating my reality...

I fought back...I know...but it's true...everything I said is true...I can't help it...it's just the way things are right now...

Bertha rolled her eyes and flipped back her long red hair before explaining to me that if I focus on the way things are...just because they're true...that I will continue to have the exact same experiences that I have been having... something about the definition of insanity...

Yikes! That didn't sound good...I really want things to be different...for once...I was ripe for advice...and she had plenty...

Here it is...

Instead of telling it like it is...tell it like you want it to be...you can do this with affirmations...stating your desires in positive words...as if they are already true in the present...and repeat them often...or you can script your desires...this works a lot like journaling...you just write about your future as if it were the present...you can date it a year in the future and write about all the amazing things that have happened to you in the last year...and how you could never have dreamed all these wonderful things...(There's a great chapter in Bertha-Size Your Life! about scripting...Happy Berthaday!)

Then she said...if you can't tell it the way you want it to be...just don't tell it at all...and she didn't mean just not to talk about it...she meant not to think about it either...to turn your focus to something else...or another aspect of the truth...for instance...if all your bills are paid and you only have $10 in the bank...think about how good it feels to have paid the bills...instead of how bad it feels to only have $10...the trick here is...they are both true...

Well...she said a lot more...we are talking Bertha, here...but I'm getting writer's cramp...so I'll tell you more later...

In the meantime...you can subscribe to the Bertha-Zine for a weekly dose of Bertha's wisdom delivered straight to your e-mail...oh...and you get a bonus...Any Which Way to Self-Care...One Woman's Self-Care is Another Woman's Torture when you confirm your subscription.

Have a great week...and tell it like it is...NOT!


Jane

ps
Bertha's Having a Pajama Party and You're Invited!
Click here for more information.


Jane Carroll, RN, BSN, Loving Life Coach,
Internet Radio Host, Author
"Bertha-Size Your Life"
"Where the Joys Are: Bertha's Guided Journal"
www.berthasize.com
www.lovingliferadioshow.com
info@berthasize.com

Who would you get if you crossed Lucy with a popular talk show host?  Why Bertha, of course!  A zany redhead, who is always up to something and drags her sidekick along with her while she's dispensing down-home wisdom and perky advice for finding balance and joy in one's life.  Throw in a conniving nemesis, an antagonistic cat, lime green spandex and high-heels and you've got a book that's sure to tickle your funny bone and leave you wearing your thinking cap as you read and reread each vignette.