creating happiness Archives — Page 2 of 4

Guest Post #3: Gratitude Is Being Awake

During the last four and a half years I have written and published every post here on SMART Living 365. But as Thom and I prepared for a three week trip over the holidays, I decided to invite three other bloggers I enjoy and admire to contribute and share their SMART advice. Today’s Guest Post comes from author and writer Corinne Rodrigues. Corinne and her writings come to us from halfway around the world in Secunderabad, South India. While our backgrounds are obviously quite different, Corinne and I both often write about many of the qualities that I think make up a SMART Life. Things like a grateful heart, giving, hope, love and thanksgiving are so universal it doesn’t matter where you live. I hope you enjoy this post, and I strongly encourage you to check out Corinne’s blog Everyday Gyaan if you get a chance. Thank you, Corinne, for sharing your loving, grateful and kind writings with all of us.

As I’m cooking spinach this afternoon, I inhale the lovely scent of cumin and coriander and I give thanks for the gift of spices. Earlier this morning, it was thanks for the freshness of the aloe vera soap I used in my shower.

I start to think about how offering thanks has become such a part of my everyday routine. I think of my journey into gratitude and decide that I’ll share it with you today. [Read more…]

How Minimalism or Rightsizing Prepares You For Retirement

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

Mom, Dad and I in Hawaii for their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

One of the stories I can vividly remember my father telling me years back was related to his pride at managing his money in retirement. At the time, both my father and mother lived on their social security and some modest savings held in a 401k. Dad frequently bragged that he lived better, traveled more, and seemed to have more fun than many of his friends who retired with big homes and generous pensions. From my perspective, at least at the time, their lifestyle seemed more humble and restricted than I felt necessary. Yet now, less than 20 years later, I recognize that their simple and minimal lifestyle afforded them tremendous benefits that millions of other “hope-to-be-retirees” could learn from—including myself. [Read more…]

25 Things I Know After 38 Years of Marriage

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Thankful

Wedding Day Outside Woodland Park, , CO 10/9/77

On October 9^th,my husband Thom and I celebrated our 38^th wedding anniversary. When we got married so many years ago I never imagined what it would be like to approach an anniversary date that signifies so much time together. I’ve heard younger people worry about sticking it out with one person for so long, because they might grow tired or bored with one another. But as I’ve said before, I think our experience proves that love and the depth of a commitment can just continue growing and deepening as years go by. And while I’ve been privileged to know some couples married far longer than us, I thought it might SMART to share 25 things I’ve personally learned about a happy marriage after 38 years. [Read more…]

The Benefits Of Pessimism and the Prevention-Focused Among Us

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

There is always more than one way to look at things.

I’ve been an optimist since the day I was born. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you probably think I’m either incredibly fortunate or unbelievably naïve depending upon your perspective. Yet after reading a new book, I not only understand a great deal more about what motivates me and why, I’ve also developed a much higher appreciation for those more pessimistic than me. In fact, sometimes the best approach for any of us is to ramp up our prevention-focus and practice a bit of defensive-pessimism depending upon the circumstances. That’s right, I now know that even a diehard optimist like me can benefit from being a little pessimistic. [Read more…]

Is Your Bucket Full & Fully Charged?

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

Several years ago I read the book How Full Is Your Bucket? by author Tom Rath. Although the message was simple, I clearly remember its advice for creating a happy and fulfilled life. So when I was offered a review copy of Rath’s newest book Are You Fully Charged? I jumped at the chance. After all, who couldn’t benefit from a book with a subtitle like “The three keys to energizing your work and life”? And if you’re anything like me, it doesn’t matter how many times I am reminded of positive and life affirming messages, I’m always open to hearing them again in a new way and different way. [Read more…]

Flowing With Unexpected Surprises—Travels With Thom & Kathy #3

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

The Monastery At Cholula

What every good traveler knows is that every trip contains unexpected surprises. Some surprises bring a wide smile to your face at the first sight of a natural wonder or touch your heart at the unexpected kindness of a stranger. Others make you laugh out loud or purr with delight. Of course on the flip side, events sometimes occur that make us frown with disappointment, wince in pain or even snarl with anger. No matter where you go and what you do, life happens. So even when most of a trip flows pleasantly as expected, learning to accept and flow with unexpected events is the key to traveling SMART. [Read more…]

3 Steps To Right-Sizing Your Work For A Happy Life

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

Working–the rightsized way!

According to the online publication Business Insider, the average person works over 1,800 hours per year and almost 90,000 total hours during their lifetime. That might be low because if you figure 40 hours per week for 50 weeks, it comes to 2,000 hours without even counting commuting time. An even more depressing bit of information is that nearly 80% of people are dissatisfied with their jobs. So if we spend over a third of our life working and another third of our life sleeping, that leaves only one third to do everything else. Is that enough for a happy, purposeful and rewarding life? Maybe. If not, perhaps there is a better way to live by right-sizing your work in ways that help to create a SMART life 365. [Read more…]

Are you Here—Or Somewhere Else?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Yesterday was my weekly volunteer day for the local branch of The Ophelia Project. I’ve been involved in this organization for a year and a half and it is an opportunity to mentor and meet regularly with local disadvantaged teenage girls looking for extra support. As you might imagine it is valuable for the girls, and a rewarding experience for me. But yesterday I knew we’d be short-handed with a lot planned for our 90-minute meeting, and I was feeling a bit anxious. Before I even left the house I was running lists through my head to insure that everything would be handled, and found myself thinking what a relief it would be when it was all over. Then something clicked in my head and I realized that this was exactly what I wanted to be doing—in fact I’d actually gone out of my way and signed up for the opportunity. But instead of relishing in the current experience, I was worrying over details and longing for it to be over. In other words, I wasn’t “here”—I was somewhere else.

[Read more…]

Gratitude Blog Hop—Thank You For Everything!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, What is SMART Living?

Thanks Living

After spending the last 29 days thinking, reading, talking and writing about gratitude, I’m pleased to say that I’ve accomplished a big part of my Gratitude Challenge. I can now say that I’m definitely more grateful for every single thing—big and little—in my life. Similar to when you decide you want to buy a new car and suddenly, everywhere you look that same car pops into your view, I now see gratitude in all sorts of places that I never imagined before. It is my sincere hope and desire that each and every one of you reading this blog feels that your gratitude level has been heightened and improved as well. But just in case you still need a little gratitude pinch, this post will include a final thought on taking your gratitude even deeper, AND my first ever Blog Hop. [Read more…]

Five Myths Of A Thankful Life

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

Grateful Me = Happy Me!

Last week my post talked about three challenges that I think stand in the way of many of us living gratefully each and every day. What occurred to me from some of the comments and other conversations I’ve had during the week is that there are a number of people who aren’t convinced that we should live either gratefully or happy every single day anyway. What’s interesting to me after all the research I’ve done over the years about creating happiness, is how closely the reasoning to avoid gratitude on a daily basis appears the same. That led me to explore some of the more common myths that exist for happiness—and observe at how those same myths apply to living thankfully 365. [Read more…]