SMART Living 365

Ideas to create a more happy, peaceful and rewarding life--365!

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7 Reasons Why The World Needs More Wonder Women

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Wonder Woman SMART Living 365A couple of weeks ago I went to see the movie Wonder Woman at my local theater—in 3D no less. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen a fantasy-action movie that I so enjoyed. A previous fan of the genre, during the last ten years nearly every other super-hero movie seemed to sink into a violent, bloody mess intended to shock and horrify rather than inspire. For the first time in a very long time, I walked out of the theater feeling both hopeful and encouraged. That’s because Wonder Woman manages to entertain us while imparting empowering and SMART messages for every person in the audience.

[Read more…]

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Category Busters, Dogs With A Bone, Liberation and Other Thoughts on Positive Aging

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, SMART Book Reviews

Kloe SMART Living 365Thinking is contagious. In other words, what we focus on and spend time mulling over in our minds routinely shows up over and over in wanted or unwanted ways. Worried about something? Chances are you will wake up in the middle of the night with those fears running through your head like a wild horse. Intrigued by something? Curious? Delighted? Without a doubt, you will find trails of those ideas leading in all sorts of interesting directions.

That’s why it was no surprise when I stumbled upon a newsletter called Positive Aging by The Taos Institute while surfing the Internet. There I found a newly released book entitled, Paths To Positive Aging—Dog Days with a Bone and Other Essays and I emailed and asked for a review copy.   As hoped, this small book of essays generated all sorts of new ideas about aging that I found remarkable. And so it goes. [Read more…]

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5 Choices Taught By Caroline Myss That Lead To Healing And Better Health

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

Choices and SMART Living 365Ever since reading Why People Don’t Heal—And How They Can by Caroline Myss, Ph.D. back in the late 1990s I have been a fan. No matter how many times I read her work, or listen to a lecture she gives, I am always inspired. Myss continually fills in the blanks in many of my thoughts about how to stay healthy and happy from a psychological and spiritual perspective that is often absent in so many conversations. This last week I found a recent TED Talk she gave at the Findhorn Foundation. In this short talk she presents five choices that she has observed in her long career that she finds essential to living a long and healthy life. Surprisingly so—it isn’t the big choices that make the real difference, it’s those little daily ones that matter. [Read more…]

17 Comments

We Didn’t Come To Get It Done

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

SMART Living 365 With Memorial Weekend right around the corner, I think a lot of people are making plans for summer vacation. I know I am. I’ve also read that people spend more time planning their vacations than they do their lives—but that’s another topic for another blog post.   Then this morning I listened to another lecture by Abraham-Hicks and through the course of a question and answer period Abraham said, “You didn’t come to get it done.”   Another way of saying that is, “It’s the journey, not the destination.” However, if you are anything like me, I need to be reminded over and over that the gift of today is reason enough for my life.  What about you? [Read more…]

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The Art of Trapology Or A Bedtime Story for Thriving And Happy Adults

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, SMART Book Reviews

SMART Living 365.comMost books I read are fact-filled nonfiction. It doesn’t matter how many I’ve read before, anything written that shares thoughts on how to create a happy and thriving life grab my interest. But even better is when I can find those same ideas in a business-parable-type book. One such book, Trap Tales—Outsmarting The 7 Hidden Obstacles to Success delivers as an entertaining and inspiring business book told in story form.

Ever play chess? According to authors David M.R. Covey and Stephan M. Mardyks, the sign of a good chess player [Read more…]

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10 Reasons Why Rightsizing Is The Perfect Path To A Happy Retirement

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Sustainable

Rightsizing * A SMART Living Guide To Reinventing RetirementA big topic in my age group is retirement. About half of my friends are looking forward to it while the other half are already there. As for Thom and I, we see ourselves standing with a foot on both sides. We aren’t retired, but neither are we chained to our work. What makes us different from others hoping to retire soon is that we’ve embraced what I call rightsizing. Rightsizing is a process that any of us can do to come into greater alignment with our most cherished values and goals. On a practical level, rightsizing points to actions we can make at any age that will help before, and especially after, a person retires.

In case you are wondering, I am not a financial advisor. Most retirement “planning” comes from people who would like to manage your finances. That approach tends to put the focus on how much money you make, how much money saved, and how much you need in the future to maintain your current lifestyle. Rightsizing, on the other end, downplays money and instead puts the focus on what is most rewarding in your life.
[Read more…]

17 Comments

What Did You Make Up Your Mind About Today?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

My husband Thom had a rather cantankerous relationship with his mother.  Bert, short for Roberta, had a very strong need for approval, especially from others. That led her to working every day to make Thom the perfect child. Unfortunately, the more she tried, the more rebellious he became. But even then, something she did do for him was to plant an extremely powerful seed in his mind. Ironically, rather than tell him directly, he overheard her saying it to a neighbor. That seed, that statement was, “Thom can do anything he sets his mind to.” Not only did that seed sprout and take root, it’s been a guiding principal in his life. And I’d bet, when you think about it, most of us live our entire lives based upon what we’ve set our mind to be, do, or have. Regrettably, many of us ignore the power of that set point as well as our ability to adjust it in a positive way by design. [Read more…]

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New Evidence That Planning and Goal Setting Are Keys To Positive Aging

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

SMART Living 365.comLike most people my age I am increasingly interested in what leads to aging well and happy. I am also keenly aware of how different that is from many of the conversations my parents had in later years. Rather than go through a depressing list of “organ – recitals” that often characterized our parents and their friends, the new emerging conversation about positive aging is leading in exciting and interesting directions every day. One recent study from the Netherlands combines the idea of healthy aging to people’s hopes, plans, and wishes for their future. Could it be that having goals and planning for certain experiences can make us happier and more satisfied as we age? This particular study says yes. [Read more…]

17 Comments

Please Be Responsible For The Energy You Take With You Wherever You Go

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

SMART Living 365.comI’m the sort of person that if you invite me to dinner I will always ask what I can bring. I firmly believe that doing things together makes just about anything more easy and fun for everyone involved. But this morning I received a great reminder while being taken on my two-mile walk by my dog Kloe. As usual, I was listening to an inspiring talk by Abraham-Hicks and she clearly reminded me that everywhere we go and with everything we do—we take our energy (or as Abraham-Hicks calls it, we take our vibration) with us. Whether invited to a party, talking on the phone, or putting posts on Facebook, we are all sharing our energy and vibration with everyone we encounter. So, are we bringing our Wholeness, wisdom, and clarity—or are we bringing our worry, fear, and pain? For those of us who believe we want to be a positive force in the world, maybe it’s time to claim full responsibility for everything we bring to the table. [Read more…]

30 Comments

A SMART And Rightsized View Of Real Estate Ownership

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

My husband Thom and I have been real estate brokers and investors for over 35 years. And while I’ve been mainly writing about the subject for most of those years, Thom has actively been a specialized commercial broker. Even better, we’ve used our knowledge and background to manage our own purchases and investments. Then about seven years ago we began switching our thoughts about real estate ownership; what it means and what it can do. That’s when we started gradually rightsizing our lives.   Lately, it occurred to me that while I often take what we’ve learned through the years for granted, it might benefit others to see it through our eyes. In fact, in many ways real estate is a perfect mirror for a rightsized life. [Read more…]

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About

Kathy Gottberg is an author with seven published books and hundreds of articles covering dozens of topics in the last 35 years. Along with her books, her passion today is SMART Living 365 where she explores ideas and experiences that help to create a meaningful, sustainable, compassionate and rewarding life for herself and others. Beyond that, she lives with Thom, her best friend and soul mate in Tucson, AZ.

To contact Kathy: click here

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