Kathy Gottberg Archives — Page 10 of 27

Five Ways To Slay The Succubus of Crippling Debt

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Sustainable

Ever feel like your Credit Card came from this bank?

Okay I’ll admit it—Thom and I enjoy tales of the supernatural. For years we watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer on television. Together we’ve seen all sorts of movies and shows about werewolves, vampires, aliens and all sorts of bizarre characters doing all sorts of strange things. Most of them are pure entertainment. However, one of the more sinister creatures is called a succubus. While never fully fleshed out in most episodes, it needs little description. Simply put, a succubus is something that sucks out the very essence and joy of a person in all sorts of horrifying and painful ways. When you think about it, oppressive debt feels exactly the same. The good news is that just like how Buffy knew ways to slay vampires, there are at least five ways any of us can rise above even the worst sort of debt succubus on the way to a happy life. [Read more…]

Volunteering—Seven Reasons Why Serving Others Serves Us

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

Serving others serves us.

For the last two years I have volunteered for a local organization called The Ophelia Project where I mentor teenage girls enrolled in high school. While not well known, I first learned of the organization from another volunteer named Sandy who told me how much she loved the experience. She explained that although it was an eight-month long commitment per year, adding up to about 12-15 hours a month, the time spent was some of the most rewarding things she did in her life. Right after that conversation, I got in touch with the director of Ophelia and signed up. [Read more…]

Ten Awesome Benefits to Growing Older

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

Good friends and inspiring role models who are 89 and 90!

Just about every day I read a post on Facebook or one of the many blogs I follow about getting older. And while many of them poke fun at the experience, most of the time the posts subtly (or not so subtly!) talk about the drawbacks to aging. But, when you think about it, every single day each of us is getting older—and thankfully so! Consider the alternative. So instead of thinking of life as a gradual decline, maybe it is time to start thinking of how life gets better as we go along—and that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. And even though I’m not facing a significant birthday for several months, I decided a good way to prepare was to start focusing on the benefits long before the day arrives. [Read more…]

7 Ways To Keep Fear & Worry From Hijacking A Happy Life

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

Me in 1995 preparing for my first tandem sky-dive!

Last week I noticed a very suspicious looking blemish on my cheek, and I started worrying. I was especially nervous because when my mother was my age, she developed skin cancer under her right eye. Then several years ago my sister Ann had an angry looking sore on the back of her leg that wouldn’t heal for months. Even though hers turned out to benign, the experience made for some anxious times. So it didn’t require much imagination on my part to convince myself that my blemish could require a big chunk to be cut out of my cheek, scaring me for a lifetime. Or worse.

Finally, after waking up in the middle of the night with worry on my mind, I called the dermatologist. Although he couldn’t see me for a week, I realized that I could continue to allow fear and worry to control my life for the following seven days, or I could do something else. But isn’t that choice something we all face every day in this thing called life? Fear and worry? Or peace and happiness? We decide. [Read more…]

10 Commandments For A SMART & Simple Life

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

Ten Commandments for Simple Living

As many of you know Thom and I have been on the path of simplifying our lives for several years. Every January we like to sit down and discuss ways we can better live that example during the coming year. But in case you haven’t noticed, there are many people offering lots of advice that it’s challenging to decide which way to approach the topic. So while we don’t consider ourselves experts on the subject, we do think it’s helpful to list what we consider to be most important. From that point forward we each can then decide where and how we can put our attention during 2014.

So here are our Top 10 Commandments:

[Read more…]

Dante’s Inferno, Dan Brown & Other Thoughts About The Future

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Sustainable

Dan Brown’s latest

I’m a fan of Dan Brown. His books and movies are pure entertainment, blending mystery with intrigue in a fast moving (somewhat repetitive) plot. I also admire his ability to question commonly held religious and cultural beliefs in both a creative and provocative manner. And let’s not forget the travel opportunities. His novels usually include captivating descriptions of exotic locations, illustrious properties, renowned art and unique insights into history around the world. His new book Inferno, similarly offers mystery and plot twists on a global scale—but this time he tackles hell, world population and the end of life on earth. Is this Dan Brown novel better, worse, or just more of the same? More importantly, does this novel introduce ideas that should be part of our ongoing global conversation and not just because they make for a thrilling novel? [Read more…]

5 Ideas To Make 2015 Your Best Year Ever!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

Ready for a Great New Year!

I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve been around long enough to know that most of the time they might seem like a good idea on January 1—but they seldom have the power to make it through all 365 days of the year. But what I do believe is that you and I have a great deal more influence on what happens in any given year than we give ourselves credit for. And much of the time that influence can be consciously directed to create both a fantastic year, and a fantastic life. If you would like to experience the “best” year of your life, I invite you to consider the following ideas that you can use to do just that! [Read more…]

50 Inspiring & SMART Quotes To Start Off 2015!

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

SMART Quotes 2014

I’ve always loved quotes. One of the best things about them is that you can read one and it can instantly turn your attention around to a new, and likely more positive, direction. Quotes also have the ability to lift you up when you’re going through tough times or encourage you when you need a boost. That’s why I thought it might be SMART to list a number of quotes that are most helpful to me as a way to jumpstart our New Year. To make it even easier to read through them—I’ve classified them according to the SMART categories. When you’re done, I’d love to hear which one’s you liked best in the comments below. Even better, if you have one that you’d like to add to the list, please share it with all of us as well. Ready for a lift? Here are the quotes: [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…]

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