SMART Living 365

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

Seven Mental Illusions that Influence Our Everyday Thinking

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, SMART Book Reviews

 

A big part of Living SMART 365 is staying conscious, awake and aware.  In fact, most of us like to believe that’s what we do most of the time.  But after reading the book, “Thinking Fast & Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, I’ve discovered that I am seldom as awake and aware as I think I am.  In fact, far too often I frame most of my decisions like a lot of you—in the easiest and most comfortable ways possible. Fortunately, now that I have a better understanding of how human thinking and decision-making works, I can be more awake and conscious about some of the most routine illusions that befall us all. [Read more…]

Creating a Complaint Free Life

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Filed under: Rightsized, Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Several years ago a book entitled, “A Complaint Free World” became an overnight sensation.  To date, nearly ten million people have read the book and obtained purple rubber bracelets to help them recognize how much they complain on a regular basis.  The practice was designed so that once people recognized their complaints they could put an end to them and gradually transform their world.  This last week I came across my little purple bracelet and immediately realized that the bad habit of complaining was worming its way back into my life.  Right then I admitted I could use another dose of “complaint-free living” in my life and in my world. [Read more…]

What you Think About Me Is None Of My Business

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

 

Back in the early 1980s, there was a New Thought minister in San Diego, CA named Terry Cole-Whittaker.  She was and still is a very vivacious speaker who was so popular that she even had her own Sunday morning TV program.  During that time, she authored a book called, “What You Think of Me Is None Of My Business.”  Although Terry’s path changed rather dramatically in the years that followed, one of her legacies is the ideas behind the title.  It doesn’t even matter if you’ve read the book or not—the title alone is something that I refer to on many occasions.  It would certainly be SMART for each one of us to regularly remind ourselves “What others think of us is none of our business.” [Read more…]

SMART Living—Seeking Wholeness and Balance In Everyday Life

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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…]

Cheap Isn’t Always A Bargain—And Other SMART Ways To Save Money

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Filed under: Rightsized

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

The 4th and final!

My grandfather Pat Hiser was a horse trader from the sandhills of Nebraska.  I definitely inherited some of those genes.  I love getting a good deal and scoring a bargain makes every purchase a little sweeter.  But I’ve come to know that cheaper isn’t always a bargain.  And this week, thanks to recent lesson regarding used dishwashers, I’ve learned that the lowest price can end up costing the most.  [Read more…]

Is Your Thinking Lazy? Or Is It Just a Bad Case Of Cognitive Ease?

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Filed under: Rightsized, SMART Book Reviews

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Kloe–in a lazy thinking mode.

I’ve always been fascinated by how people think.  Particularly, I’ve always wondered why seemingly smart and intelligent people think, say and believe crazy things.  For example, the evidence that humans are contributing to global warming is overwhelming and irrefutable by over 90% of scientists around the world.  Yet, a huge number of people continue to deny it.  Why?   Simply put, it’s lazy thinking—or actually not thinking much at all!  But before any of us start feeling superior—we all do this at least some of the time.  In fact, a book by Daniel Kahneman entitled, “Thinking Fast and Slow” explains how human brains are hard-wired to process and function in ways that are easy and fast.   The problem is—most of the time it’s not really thinking—although we all think it is! [Read more…]

Googling For Good

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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…]

Need A Raise? Cut Your Overhead!

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Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Our new "shared" yard saves us about $7,000 a year!

When was your last raise?  Everyone I know would love to have one, but they don’t usually come all that often.  Still, if we consider that a raise is just a new inflow of money—we all have one readily available.    That new inflow or “raise” in income is always within your grasp by simply cutting your overhead or monthly expenses.   And even if the idea of cutting back sounds like a sacrifice, you may just discover that reducing overhead—especially when unnecessary or unused—can actually be a pleasure.  And your pocketbook will thank you as well. [Read more…]

Are You an Innie or an Outie? —Spiritually Speaking of Course!

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Do you know whether you’re and innie or an outie?  While those terms usually refer to a belly button, they apply even better when you are asking about a person’s spirituality.  In other words, is your spiritual life inner-directed or outer-directed?  And it doesn’t really matter what religion you practice.  If you live your life based upon what others tell you to do, be, have or care about—even if that “other” is a spiritual leader of sorts—then you are outer-directed.  If you instead listen to your own soul—especially in matters of the heart and spirit—then you are an innie.  A huge part of living SMART 365 is learning the difference and then following the still, small voice within. [Read more…]