Sustainable Archives — Page 12 of 15

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.

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Seven Surefire Reasons Why Everyone Should Start A Garden

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable

“Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden.” –Robert Brault

Starting a garden has been a goal of mine ever since we moved into our new house nearly a year and a half ago. Just like every one of us, I had dozens of great excuses for why it was easy to put it off and not get started. Still, slowly but surely Thom and I began taking steps towards creating the perfect space on our small urban lot. This last weekend I finally put the plants in the soil. Now I have a vegetable garden and regardless of whether anything actually bears fruit, I can begin reaping the many benefits offered by such a time-honored and humble activity. [Read more…]

Training Your Brain For A Long, Healthy & SMART Life

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

In case you haven’t noticed, I am fascinated by the brain and write about it frequently. That might be because I’m a woman in my early sixties, had a mother diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her early 70’s, and have a sister just a couple of years older than me that constantly affirms, “I can’t remember anything!” and then does her best to prove it. So, for several reasons including the fact that I’m a writer, I’ve grown attached to my brain and it’s creativity and strive to discover everything I can to help it stay healthy and functioning. As it turns out, we can do plenty. But we have to be willing to take care of and exercise our brains just like we do our bodies, or we’ll likely get whatever chance throws our way.

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SMART Living Takes Smart Buildings and Smart Cities To the Highest Level

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable, What is SMART Living?

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

In case you didn’t know, Thom and I have been real estate brokers for over 25 years. Never a good “salesperson,” I soon began writing about real estate rather than selling it. On the other hand, Thom specializes in investment and commercial properties with a big emphasis on properties that are “green” and sustainable. A recent aspect to the energy-efficient real estate industry is “smart technology” for buildings and now even cities. But even though there may be an advantage to such technology and focus—it leaves out a critical ingredient. In order for anything to be truly SMART—people and their motivations must be included in the equation. [Read more…]

Budget Impossible! And Other Tales of Financial Freedom

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Click to go to “Restaurant Impossible”

Quite by accident, Thom and I started watching a show on TV call “Restaurant Impossible” on the Food Network. In the show, a failing and desperate restaurant owner somewhere in the country contacts Chef Robert Irvine. Chef Irvine flies in with a designer, a contractor, ten thousand dollars and two days to totally transform these dismal eateries and provide the last hope for these owners to remain in business. It’s fun to watch the transformation of the interiors—but even more fascinating to watch the transformation of the proprietors. In just about every case the owners have gone years without any income and are deeply in debt, while their restaurant and its business deteriorates around them. It’s hard to imagine why they didn’t do something about it or at least they cut their losses long before they hit bottom. But are they unusual? Probably not. Maybe “Budget Impossible” happens to all of us if we wear blinders when it comes to our finances or our lives. [Read more…]

Work Less—Live SMARTer!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Working Hard? Or Hardly Working in Hawaii…

Do you think you work too hard? You’re not alone. Many people I talk to, especially those younger with families, report being over-worked, overwhelmed and clearly unable to take even a moment to pause and reflect on the direction of their life. We all know that chronic overwork increases our stress levels, endangers our physical health, triggers depression and decreases our “life satisfaction.” So why do we continue to put in long hours? And what’s the solution? It’s likely that the simple answer is to work less and live SMARTer. In fact, there is evidence that working less not only increases the quality of an individual’s life—it is also much better for the entire planet.

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The New Year—A Blank Piece of Paper Awaiting Inspiration

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable

As a writer, it’s easy for me to imagine each New Year as a blank piece of paper awaiting my inspiration. But when you think about it, that metaphor actually works for everyone. Every year we all have the potential to start over with a story—our personal story for sure—and any other story we want to create. And because this year is 2017, you may be already creating a year filled with all sort of drama and possibility. Or, it’s also likely that this year will just be a carbon-copy of last year. As usual, the choice is up to us.

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Saying Goodbye to 2012 & Other Thoughts On Letting Go

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Nichols College Photos

Most of the time I’m pretty good at letting things go—or at least I think I am! What about you? The most obvious thing that we all let go of every single year is the date. In other words, in less than a week, 2012 will be history and we’ll start writing 2013 on our checks, correspondence and other items that require a date. But what about everything else? Actually, it’s likely that before we can expect 2013 to be any different than our past, we’ll need to say good-bye to things that have held us back. Here’s a few things I came up with that will surely make 2013 better in my world.

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2011 Top Blogging Lessons Learned From SMART Living 365

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Now that I have been blogging for just over six months and it is the end of 2011, I thought it might be a good idea to pause and reflect on some of the things I’ve learned along the way. While these lessons explain what I feel I’ve learned by blogging, just like with life 365, most of items (if not all) can apply to anyone, anywhere who is attempting to live a meaningful and rewarding life. [Read more…]