?I buried diabetes a long time ago, so it could never bury me,? says Julie Wanner Rossetti, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a 13-year-old a quarter century ago. ?Diabetes is dead, but I'm alive. I've learned to live my life as if I don't have the deadly disease.? She shows us how to ?bury? diabetes in her new book, Diabetes Can Be Sweet?Once You Bury It.

1. Don't Accept The Label of ?Diabetic.?

Remember, you're a person, not a disease. Choose the words that you want to define your life. Be positive. Lose the label of ?diabetic.? Decide today that diabetes will not define who you are, but you will define what diabetes is to you.

2. Dig A Hole And Bury It.

Go to your local hardware store and buy the biggest shovel that they have. Once you buy it, all you need to do is find a place to start digging a hole. Make it big enough to place diabetes and anything that is negatively associated with it in the hole. Be sure it is all in the hole. Now bury it. It's dead, and you are alive! Let's keep it that way.

3. Take Responsibility.

Taking 100% responsibility means no more excuses. We can no longer blame our parents, spouse, friends, co-workers, the family pet or even the mouse in the house. Invest now in diabetes education that works - and act on this advice ? or pay later in medical bills or with your life.

4. Choose Faith Over Fear.

Denial is totally based on fear. Instead, we can become pro-active, by inviting faith to come in. Faith and fear do not go together. Choose faith and you will start feeling better.

5. Eliminate Negative Self-Talk.

Don't say what you ?should? do ? just do it! Speak pro-actively. We all talk to ourselves throughout the day. Unfortunately, most of it is negative. Such comments include: ?I can't get organized, I'm always late, I will never be healthy again.? And the list goes on and on. These comments affect our attitude and keep us from becoming pro-active. We start to believe all of these lies and they become very real to us. At this point, we then have absolutely no energy or motivation to even get started. Now, even though we want to become healthier, we don't. The spoken word, including self-talk, is very powerful. You believe the lies and soon you get everything you never wanted. Start today, self-talking what you want!