rewarding Archives — SMART Living 365

A Christmas Wish For Peace

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

Merry Christmas Everyone! Millions of people all over the world are celebrating Christmas this weekend. The one gift we want to offer everyone is something that cannot be bought—only shared. That wish is for peace.

And one of our favorite ways to share it is in the words of young Mattie Stepanek. Mattie as you may remember was a young man who died in 2004 at the age of 14. Mattie, who passed away from a rare genetic disease, managed to write six books of poetry in his young life and touched millions around the planet including Oprah Winfrey and his hero Jimmy Carter. [Read more…]

Failing Forward and Other Ways To Re-Create The Future

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful

Click on photo for video

I’m like most people. I don’t like the idea of failure. Failure usually means I’ve done something wrong or wasted my time. But what if failure were one of the best ways to experience a lifetime of forward growth and momentum? And what if when I’m not failing on a regular basis, I’m not doing much of anything at all? Like the statement, “grow or die,” maybe we’d all do well to start seeing the act of failing as a step on the path to a happy, exciting and SMART life.

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SMART Living 365 Recommends Your Local Public Library—For Free!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Sustainable, Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

During the last couple of months SMART Living 365 has made it a habit to recommend a website or resource that brings richness to our lives. Most of our recommendations have been online businesses or charities—but today’s recommendation is something many people (at least those that live in the US) take for granted. And while some of our readers are international, and not every US citizen lives in an area with a large library system, we still want to point out the amazing benefits many of us can regularly use to increase the quality of our lives—and it’s mostly free! That resource is your local public library.

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Seeing the Beauty Around Us

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware

What did you notice when you woke up this morning and started your day? Was it beauty? If you’re anything like me, you might not see much of anything until after a cup of coffee. But once my eyes begin to focus, I attempt to make a regular habit of looking at the beauty I see all around me. Actually, I believe that seeing beauty all around us is a habit we can all develop to create a happier life.

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Enjoying the Good Things In Life—For Free!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

The best things in life are free!

Yesterday evening Carlsbad, California began its Annual Music Festival with a free Village Music Walk. Similar to free art walks held regularly in cities around the county, the music walk was an introduction to the music to be performed at different venues over the weekend—and just like most art walks—it was absolutely free. Now, most of us know deep down that the best things in life aren’t “things.” But until we stop, think about it and then start enjoying the many free experiences that bring us joy, we might be missing out on the good right in front of us.

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It’s SMART To Stay Open to the New and Possible

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful

Has anything pleasantly unexpected happened to you lately? Why not? If your day is starting to look and feel like the movie “Ground Hog Day” then maybe you have closed yourself off from the new and possible. Just holding open the possibility that something new and wonderful could happen today—might be what’s needed to crack open that door to a miraculous possibility that never before seemed feasible.

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Defining Happiness—Is it Bling, A Journey or Something Else?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Thankful

An important part of SMART Living 365 is creating happiness. But what do I mean by happiness? Unfortunately, many people in America seem to be working to either buy happiness or make happiness happen, and that can actually lead to more stress and dissatisfaction than anything else. So, before we go further, let’s explore what happiness is, and isn’t—how we can experience it—and why should we want it in the first place. [Read more…]

A Simple Prescription For Happiness–Get a Dog!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Thankful

Kathy, Kloe & Thom

Just over six months ago Thom and I added a new family member to our household—a puppy we named Kloe. To be sure, a puppy ads havoc, lots more work and a great deal of responsibility to anyone who cares for them. However, the increased value and joy Kloe brings to our lives more than compensates for any inconvenience. Not only does Kloe make us laugh on a daily basis, there is plenty of proof that she is also good for our health.

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A Simple Path to SMART Living 365–Just Smile!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Thankful

Do you have any idea how powerful a simple smile is? I sure didn’t. Last night I watched the attached TED Talk where Ron Gutman, the CEO of HealthTap, explained the benefits of something we can do every single day—smile.

Gutman said he got his start from a study done at Berkley that tracked graduates over a 30-year period. What they did is first examine and then measure the smiles from students found in their graduation yearbook. From the smiles they measured they were able to predict how fulfilling and long-lasting the individuals married relationships would be, how well they would score on a standardized test for well-being, and finally how inspiring they would be to others. Wow—makes you wish you could go back and take that photo again right? [Read more…]

SMART Living is seeing the Good AND Laughing on A Regular Basis

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Thankful

Let’s face it. We live in an amazing world filled with all sorts of incredible things. Yet, because humans tend to adjust to just about anything very quickly, we usually forget how great our lives are. SMART Living asks us to slow down, look around and pay attention—and then be thankful. I found this great short comedy video on FaceBook today and I think it says something very important in a short, funny and irreverent way. What do you think?