SMART Living 365

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

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Self Esteem & Self Image—What’s The Difference & Why Does It Matter?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

Self–esteem isn’t asserting my right to do whatever I want whenever I want it—it is instead reminding me that I am okay no matter what experience may be occurring in my life at any time!

SMART Living 365.com

Connecting to Self Esteem

 

Like many other women I was raised to be nice, polite and want people to like me.  By the time I was old enough to realize that those “other people” didn’t always have my best interests at heart, it was too late.  That habit of seeing my self worth reflected by other people was deeply entrenched in how I thought and often how I behaved.  And although I’ve made lots of progress during the last 25+ years or so—the truth is I still often take the opinions of others far too personally, and I frequently care too much what others think of me—especially when it has to do with something I hold dear to heart.  That’s why when I recently came across a discussion by Deepak Chropra explaining the difference between self-esteem and self-image, I discovered there was a difference.   More importantly, knowing that difference matters quite a bit. [Read more…]

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Finding Your W.A.I. (Welcome, Accept, and Intentions) in the Coming Year!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

Finding Your WAI PathEvery New Year most people talk of resolutions.  Unfortunately, most of the talk is about how resolutions don’t work and end up causing more frustration and discouragement than any type of help.  The thing is, I’m fairly certain that unless we focus on what we do want and what’s important to us, we likely end up with a year that looks similar to the one before, or worse, one that is significantly less fulfilling.  In fact, without such clarity we’re like a person starting out on a journey with no purpose or destination in mind, or an airplane taking off without navigation.   So rather than eliminate resolutions altogether, I came up with a new W.A.I  (Welcome-Accept-Intentions) of looking at hopes and dreams for the coming year so that we may be better able to enjoy the journey for the next 365 days. [Read more…]

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The Life of You, Me and Pi—Ten Ideas Worth Remembering

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Last weekend Thom and I snuck away to the movies.  We haven’t gone much these days because most don’t seem to deliver a story worth watching.  Fortunately The Life of Pi had just been released.  Not only is the movie a stunning visual treat, the story is engaging and thought-provoking.  If you haven’t seen it, I strongly encourage you to take the time.  And as fantastical as the story may seem, you may find as I did, that the movie is a good allegory for all of us.   In fact, many of the choices made by Pi are choices most of us are asked to make as we journey through our lives. [Read more…]

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Traveling Through Life in the Wu Wei Way

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

Zion National Park, UT

Thom and I just returned from a vacation.  Spanning 12 days, we attended a wedding, visited with family, stayed in six different hotels, drove over 1,600 miles, hiked in three national parks, and explored parts of five different states in the Southwestern United States.  To accomplish this our trip was an orchestration of coordination and planning—as well as an ongoing intention of the Taoist principal of wu wei.  While most people lean one way or another when taking a vacation, I believe that the best of them include a delicate dance between the two.  Much like the Tao symbol of yin and yang, wu wei and planning blend the two aspects of action into a harmonious whole.   In fact, including wu wei in your travel plans just might be the best way to travel on vacation-–or through life itself. [Read more…]

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

By Kathy Gottberg
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…]

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Walkability–How Walkable is Your Neighborhood?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Walking with Kloe near our neighborhood.

Until recently, very few of us purchased a home or rented a house based upon its “walkability score.”  But that might be changing.  With increased emphasis on the benefits of living in a home where you can walk to community services like libraries, schools and shopping—plus increasing legislation which promotes sustainable regional growth strategies for both housing and transportation—attitudes may be shifting.  In fact, as more people attempt to embrace a more SMART and eco-friendly lifestyle, walkability is proving to be one of the best “steps” on the way to going green.
[Read more…]

3 Comments

Seven SMART and Safe Tips for Buying A New Home

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Our first home in Colorado Springs, CO

This last weekend Thom and I spent time with good friends that are looking to buy a new home.   In case I haven’t mentioned it before, both Thom and I have been real estate brokers for over 25 years (yikes!  Where does the time go?)  While Thom works exclusively with commercial properties, I mainly keep my license active in order to use that knowledge for my writing career.  Plus, it comes in handy for personal use and sometimes to help friends or family.  After showing our friends about ten homes in different areas, it occurred to me that based upon my experience, I could offer some tips to anyone who wishes to buy a home in a SMART (sustainable, meaningful, artful, responsible and thankful) way.  So here are my seven tips to do just that! [Read more…]

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Don’t Let Hornworms or Or Any Kind of Trouble Get You Down!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

This year, for the first time ever, I planted a garden.  At the beginning, it was fun, rewarding and easy.  I began harvesting lettuce within two weeks and peppers barely 30 days later. Every day was a miracle as I watched green tomatoes forming on my wandering vines. Then, just as I anticipated ripe tomatoes, I noticed something awful.  Huge juicy caterpillars were munching my vines and my baby tomatoes.  Not only were they devastating my plants, their overwhelming presence shattered my idyllic garden image. Almost overnight, my garden became both a challenging endeavor and a reality check.   Much as I’d like to believe that disappointment or challenges don’t happen to all of us on a regular basis—the truth is they do.  And because it is SMART to stay focused on solutions rather than the problem, here are 8 suggestions anyone of us can use to overcome the hornworms  (or any other challenge!) you face in your life.

[Read more…]

2 Comments

Seven Mental Illusions that Influence Our Everyday Thinking

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

 

A big part of Living SMART 365 is staying conscious, awake and aware.  In fact, most of us like to believe that’s what we do most of the time.  But after reading the book, “Thinking Fast & Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, I’ve discovered that I am seldom as awake and aware as I think I am.  In fact, far too often I frame most of my decisions like a lot of you—in the easiest and most comfortable ways possible. Fortunately, now that I have a better understanding of how human thinking and decision-making works, I can be more awake and conscious about some of the most routine illusions that befall us all. [Read more…]

4 Comments

A Simple Cure for Those Suffering From Cash-Burn

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

Cash burningMost of us are familiar with the pain of heartburn. And if you check you’ll find that news sources say close to 40% of all Americans suffer from it at least once a month. But what about cash-burn? Chances are the same numbers of Americans suffer from this common affliction as well. But what is cash-burn and how does it happen? Even more important—what’s the cure? [Read more…]

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About

Kathy Gottberg is an author with seven published books and hundreds of articles covering dozens of topics in the last 35 years. Along with her books, her passion today is SMART Living 365 where she explores ideas and experiences that help to create a meaningful, sustainable, compassionate and rewarding life for herself and others. Beyond that, she lives with Thom, her best friend and soul mate in Tucson, AZ.

To contact Kathy: click here

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