My aunt, who recently passed, used to tell me:
“When you turn 80, you can say whatever you want and people will just laugh because you’re old.”
At almost 90, my dad has proven this many times.
Including at this same aunt’s funeral… when, during a quiet pause between speakers, he blurted out:
“Why is everyone mumbling and talking so much? She’s dead, she can’t hear you!”
Ah yes… the joys of not wearing hearing aids.
He triggered a full-on giggle fest from my cousins in the pew in front of us…
while I turned beet red, mid–hot flash, with sweat running down my back.
The good news? I’m certain Grandma Honey thought it was hilarious from heaven.
So when a client said to me last week,
“Why is getting older so hard?”
…and I immediately blurted out:
“Why are you making it so hard?”
My first thought was: Well… crap. Foot in mouth.
But what came next was powerful.
She paused and said:
“I’ve only ever heard people say that… so I guess I just keep repeating it. I don’t actually know what I’m doing to make it hard other than saying it.”
Bingo.
Life often becomes what you repeatedly say it is.
And I don’t blame her that phrase is everywhere.
Right alongside:
“It’s hell getting old.”
“My body is falling apart.”
“This is just what happens.”
So I asked her:
“What else do you say regularly that you don’t really question or have proof for?”
Her response:
“I suck at taking care of myself.”
“I can’t lose weight.”
“I wish I had a different body.”
Sound familiar?
I hear these all the time.
And I used to say things like:
“I just look at an Oreo and gain 5 pounds.”
Then I’d wonder why I struggled with weight… while obsessing over treats and trying to avoid them.
Frustrating, right?
But what you say internally and externally shapes your present and your future.
So here’s a challenge:
Start observing what you say about your health.
And maybe… loosen your filter a bit.
Not in a hurtful way but in an honest way.
We’ve all heard:
“If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
But what if losing your filter allowed you to ask the real, raw questions?
The ones that actually get you closer to the truth?
At my great aunt’s funeral, the last speaker clearly heard my dad’s comment and kept things short, sweet, and to the point.
Trust me… she could have gone on.
But she didn’t.
And within minutes, my dad was off to get his Miller Lite and ham sandwich at the luncheon.
He got what he wanted.
So how do you get what you want?
What do you need to say?
Who do you need to say it to?
And how might that change your health long-term?
Here’s to letting go of age limits and filters.
Dr. J
P.S. What do filters have to do with pent-up emotions?
Everything.
Learn how emotions, cravings, and thoughts can help you decode symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, hormone imbalances, aches, and more.
I’m hosting a free workshop: Not Just in Your Head: The Emotions-Aging Connection
Thursday, April 30th at 5:30 PM PST / 7:30 PM CST
** If you tried to register before and couldn’t – I realized I goofed up the link – PROOF it’s a human doing the emails – thank you to my loyal reader for the insight – xoxo!**
Register here:
Replay available if you register.
P.P.S. I’m testing a few new things this month – learn more and join me:
1. Mother Ferment – a cleaner that’s better for your health and the environment, and replaces multiple products. https://www.motherferment.com/
Code for $ off: KRAUSE10
2. Elonga HRV Device – tracks heart rate variability to measure how stress, habits, and behaviors affect your body over time.
Code for $ off: drjanninekrause
More on both next week—stay tuned.
