SMART Living 365

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

Ignoring the Black Dots and Seeing The Good

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Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Thankful

What do you see when you look at this photo?

This last weekend Thom, Kloe and I took a short trip down to Baja Mexico to visit friends.  We hadn’t been to Rosarito in years and we hadn’t visited our longtime friends Larry & Jose since they bought their stunning condo perched on the rugged coastline.  We had a wonderful time—lots of great conversation, plenty of laughter, tasty food, soaking in the hot tub, playtime with Kloe and her new dog girlfriend Tasha, a couple of bottles of nice wine and even a sip or two of the “new” almond tequila.  But toward the end of the mini-vacation we hit a slight “hitch.”  Luckily, we both quickly remembered that we “get to make it up” and decided to ignore the hitch and focus on the good.   After all, did we want to remember the fun from the amazing previous four days, or the small “black dot” towards the end?  And as usual, what we chose to focus on and remember, is up to us. [Read more…]

Be About YOUR Business

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Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

Most of the time I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate people on the planet.  I have a wonderful life—I’m healthy and have a great relationship—I also get to work and write about things that matter to me on a consistent basis.  But every now and then something pops up that makes me pause and wonder if my writing and work is making any kind of positive difference. Other times things happen or people do unexpected and unpleasant things that catch me by surprise. That’s when it is SMART for me to remember the words of a wise woman named Byron Katie.  One of the solutions she suggests for when we are feeling stressed out or unhappy is to “Stay In Your Own Business.”  In fact, she is very clear that most time when we are struggling with a situation we are in someone else’s business—and the simple practice of recognizing that fact is usually all it takes to bring us back to ourselves. [Read more…]

The Science Behind “You Get To Make It Up!”

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

SMART Living 365.comA number of years ago my husband Thom came up with the phrase, “you get to make it up.”    Something about that statement resonated with others, especially those of us who have studied New Thought philosophy .  But at the same time the phrase raised questions, like: What the…?  You mean I am making it up when bad things happen and I don’t feel good?  I get to make up who is the next president?  I am making it up when I’m broke and in debt?  It sounds so bold, presumptive and sacrilegious to say we are individually making it all up.  But after reading a new book this week entitled, “Subliminal—How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior” there is now nueroscientific proof that much of what happens in our lives is indeed the creation of our own minds. [Read more…]

Are You Really A Minimalist?—And Five Questions To Find Out

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Do you consider yourself a minimalist? Do you even know what minimalism means? Lately I’ve been excited by a number of blogs and websites devoted to the topic. That interest signals a reverse in the over-consumptive tendencies and consumer lifestyle so prevalent during the last couple of decades here in the U.S. But often when I read the posts and comments on such sites, it seems that those who are involved have differing views of what minimalism is and why it can be beneficial. Perhaps before we start calling ourselves a minimalist we should describe what we mean in the first place. [Read more…]

Imagining An Olympics For the Mind & Heart

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

Anyone who knows me very well knows I’m not really into sports.  Even though I have attended a number of sporting events in person—NFL Football, Lakers Basketball, Angel’s Baseball, Rocky Hockey, world-class tennis, golf and a few others—it was always about the experience.   I guess I figure that if I am going to watch others play sports, then I want to be present and not just passively  watching on TV.  Maybe that’s why even though I can appreciate some of the 2012 World Olympics—it only partially captures my interest.  It also makes me ask, why do we continue to put so much emphasis on what is physically possible, but very little attention on intelligence and creativity?  Why don’t we hold a “Creative” Olympics every four years?  Or what about holding a worldwide Olympics of Compassion?  One can only guess what an Olympics for the Mind might foster for the people of the world. [Read more…]

Who Needs All The Time In The World If You’re Not Really Living?

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Filed under: Meaningful, Thankful

       Last weekend Thom and I watched a movie on HBO entitled, “In Time.”   I don’t recall seeing it in local theaters, probably because its ratings were average and the lead actor was Justin Timberlake.  But with a sci-fi theme and on a hot summer evening, we decided to give the movie a chance.  Surprisingly enough, it was not only entertaining, but it raised some very provocative questions that have stayed with me all week.  Questions like:  What lengths will people go to in order to try to live forever?  Why do most people say they want to live forever, but often live lives of quiet desperation and routine?  Is “living” merely taking another breath or is it something more? [Read more…]

Lessons From Catching A Cold—And Other Tips On How To Be Kind To Yourself While Being Sick

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Thankful

I caught a cold this weekend.  Yeah, I know it’s not a popular thing to do—or especially to admit.  After all, how many times have you heard someone say, “I NEVER get sick!”   Which is odd, when you distinctly recall just a short while (week, month, season) ago they were moaning about feeling awful.   Besides, now that most people have a Facebook Timeline we have proof of their past experiences!  But being sick and trying to heal while not fighting the process got me thinking.  That’s when I decided it might be SMART to come up with a few lessons all of us could remember when we have a cold. [Read more…]

Six Elements That Make A Place Special

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Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

As some of you know, Thom and I just spent ten days in Taos, New Mexico.  We went there to attend a music festival and ended up staying for a week. After seven days in one place, we discovered several things that made Taos really special.  And that got me thinking—what is it that makes anyplace special?  And is there anything we can do to make wherever we are the same? [Read more…]

What Makes A Life Go Well?

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, What is SMART Living?

As most of you know, a reoccurring question here on SMART Living 365 is, “how can we live a happy, healthy and meaningful life?”  Another way of saying that is, “What makes a life go well?”  I recently came across the work of a man named Dr. Nick Baylis who has spent his career in pursuit of that question.   Baylis, a “wellbeing” consultant and psychologist, teaches at Cambridge University in the UK where he helped to co-found The Well-Being Institute.  He is also the author of several books and is known as Dr. Feel Good in his column written for The Times (London).    One of the first to lecture on the field of positive psychology in the UK, Baylis is convinced that the “science” of wellbeing is a practice of identifying and then utilizing the skills that lead to a life well-lived. [Read more…]

Are You A Hedgehog or a Fox—And Why Should you Care?

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, SMART Book Reviews

A hedgehog & a fox? You be the judge!

Ever heard of the parable of the hedgehog and the fox?  These terms gained notice after a philosopher named Isaiah Berlin used them in a popular essay back in the mid-1900s.  Berlin used the parable to analyze the worldviews and history of Tolstoy in his classic manuscript, War & Peace.  And while I haven’t read War & Peace in many years, or the essay by Berlin, I did read a more recent book entitled, Good To Great by Jim Collins.   Collins uses the allegory as a way to define how to be a leader and run a successful business.   Even more recently, I came across the two terms in the book Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman.  Kahneman uses them to define differing ways to think and predict coming events.   But what exactly is a hedgehog, and how does it differ from the fox?  Even more importantly, what does it have to do with your life and can it help you live SMART 365? [Read more…]