Meaningful Archives — Page 36 of 41

Priming the Pump and Other Reasons To “Act As If”

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Anyone who has studied positive thinking, New Thought or the Law of Attraction understands the concept of acting “as if.” You know—acting with confidence and grace even when you’re shaking in your boots, or putting a smile on your face and acting happy even when you woke up feeling terrible. Many people believe that those actions can actually lead to their desired results. But while “faking it until you make it” might sound like nothing more than an unsubstantiated urban legend, plenty of evidence now proves the process is beneficial in dozens of ways. [Read more…]

SMART Living—Seeking Wholeness and Balance In Everyday Life

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Photo by mbeo on flickr–see link below

Have you been wondering what living responsibly and within your means has to do with positive thinking and happiness? Or what about articles focused on the search for meaning and purpose, and how those ideas relate to being grateful and appreciating what you have? And what do any of those have to do with staying curious, open-minded and conscious? In case you haven’t noticed, I write about all these and more here on SMART Living on a fairly regular basis. And while they might appear at first to be unconnected, I’m convinced that all of these topics and ideas flow together to create a balanced and whole life. In fact, embracing all of those ideas just might be the perfect way to achieve happiness and a sense of well-being every single day. [Read more…]

Goodness is Catching—The Gift of Unexpected Generosity

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Thankful

Not long ago, a woman named Chris went with a friend to Disneyland. There in the massive parking lot of the Magic Kingdom, two other women approached asking if they would like free passes to the “Happiest Place On Earth.” The women offering the gift said they had two extra, and just wanted to give the other two away. This simple act of generosity reminded Chris and her friend of the kindness of others, and restored within her a reminder that people are intrinsically good. In fact, that charitable act inspired her to be more kind and generous herself. [Read more…]

Chutzpah and Humility—And Other Habits of the Heart

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

Parker J. Palmer’s latest book.

One of my favorite authors is a man named Parker J. Palmer. Parker comes from the Quaker Tradition which embodies such a genuine depth of spirit and connection that I am always interested in what he has to say. With a background in education, spirituality, community, and leadership his latest book is Healing the Heart of Democracy.” And while politics may seem a strange bedfellow to spirituality or even SMART Living, the manner in which Parker approaches the topic is relevant to every single subject I ever write about. Ultimately, every one of his themes leads to a greater experience of the whole.

[Read more…]

Five Big Benefits From Having & Keeping Friends

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Thankful

This last weekend Thom and I drove to Carlsbad to visit with our friends John and Michelle. It took some gas money to get there, but once we arrived, we hunkered down with a couple of bottles of wine, a great dinner that Michelle prepared, and talked for hours, and hours. We eventually went to bed (lucky for us they have a guest room) and then got up and talked and laughed over breakfast before returning home to the desert. Once the overnight bag was put away, it occurred to me that our brief trip was one of those priceless moments with friends that takes relatively little money but offers huge returns. In fact, cultivating deep friendships may be one of the SMARTest things any of can do on a regular basis to live a great life. [Read more…]

Three Words That Enrich Your Life

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Three SMART words to enrich your life.

I just read a short interview by author and activist Gloria Steinem. In it, she was asked to offer three words that have guided her life. They were: Hope, Ideas and Friends. And while I think all of them are indeed valuable and important in my life as well, it made me ask myself, what three words do I feel enrich my life the most? Whether you agree with Gloria, or me, it may be worth the time for you figure out three words that bring value to your life and help make them more prevalent in your life today. [Read more…]

Chop Wood, Do Taxes, Wash Dishes, Be Spiritual

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful

Every year about this time, I begin working on getting my tax information ready for our accountant. As two self-employed people, this practice is far more involved than gathering our W-2s, and never what I consider fun. Yet, much as I dread it—and whine about the chore—in the end “doing taxes” is but one more detail of life that we all face on a regular basis. When you think about it, no matter how much we might try, we’ll never escape most of those particulars, so it is wise to mindfully embrace them in the present moment and recognize that collectively they all add up to creating a SMART life.

[Read more…]

Googling For Good

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Do you Google? Or do you prefer Bing, Yahoo, AOL, Ask or any of the other search engines available? Even if you use one or more of them every day, have you ever thought about how they continually direct our thoughts? And although there is an amazing amount of information out there, without the means to find it—it might as well not be there at all. That’s why Googling, or how we use any search engine, is a great metaphor for how we go about looking for those things we say we want and need in life. Plus, not only are our Google searches a mirror to what we think is important and worthy of our attention, it may also be SMART for us to remember that what we search for, we most often find. [Read more…]

How Healthy is Your Curiosity?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

The other day I got curious about curiosity. Surprisingly, it’s curious that there is actually only a little amount of information available. In fact, even scientists consider curiosity a bit of a mystery—with some believing curiosity is a character trait, and others believing it relates to emotions. They also aren’t sure whether it is completely inherent (meaning generated within us), or if it is stimulated and grown from outside us. Whatever curiosity is, I believe that a healthy and active sense of curiosity is an essential element for a SMART and happy life. [Read more…]

Five Essentials For A Long, Happy & Healthy Relationship

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable, Thankful

Real love takes more than flowers once a year!

I’ve never considered myself an expert on relationships. Instead, I’ve always thought of myself as extremely fortunate that I had such a great marriage and partnership. But this Valentine’s Day is a year when Thom and I will be celebrating our 35^th wedding anniversary and I can honestly say I love him now much more than when we first got together. So, upon reflection, I might not be an expert, but I do believe that along the way I’ve learned a few things that makes for a happy life between two people.

[Read more…]