SMART Living 365

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

Is Your Over-Thinking An Addiction? —Here Are Eight Steps To Recovery

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Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

I like choices.  Nearly every one of my decisions is carefully researched to maximize the greatest number of benefits.  When I buy something, I like to know I purchased the best product at the best price.  When I travel somewhere, I am fairly certain I’ll enjoy the most outstanding experience available.  When working I am reasonably convinced that I have covered as many bases as possible and creatively contributed to my field.   And while most of the time I enjoy the process—I have to admit there are times when I take the whole thing to extreme. (I’m sure Thom, my husband, would agree!)  That’s when I know I am caught in the loop of over-thinking and that’s when it’s time to seek recovery. [Read more…]

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

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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.

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Seven Mental Illusions that Influence Our Everyday Thinking

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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…]

It’s SMART to Define What We Mean By Happiness

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Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

The recent World Happiness Report reminded me that it is always a good idea to define your terms—even with a common word like “happiness.”  That’s because while we all tend to use the word on a regular basis, what I think happiness means, what you think happiness means, and what everyone experiences as happiness are very likely three different things.  And if we are going to pursue it as the U.S. Declaration of Independence suggests, then it is critical that we know what we are talking about. [Read more…]

Consider Yourself Lucky?—Here Are 5 Ways To Increase Your Odds In The Future

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Filed under: Aware, Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!  

Now that the largest Mega Millions Multi-State Lottery is finally behind us, let’s talk about luck.   According to estimates,  nearly $1.5 billion dollars was spent with the hope of winning $640 Million.  Unfortunately, those who bought tickets were in reality 50 times more likely to get hit by lightening—and some guy in Kansas actually did on his way home from buying three tickets at a local store.  But those odds didn’t stop hundreds of people from standing in line over five hours in nasty and cold weather for the miniscule chance of becoming a mega-millionaire.  News reports say there are only three lucky winners and dozens of others who will share in lesser prizes.   Do those winners have a secret the rest of us can use to increase our odds in the future?   The answer is yes—lucky people do have a formula.  But it isn’t exclusive and you and I can benefit every day of our lives by knowing certain behaviors that can increase our odds.      [Read more…]

What you Think About Me Is None Of My Business

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

 

Back in the early 1980s, there was a New Thought minister in San Diego, CA named Terry Cole-Whittaker.  She was and still is a very vivacious speaker who was so popular that she even had her own Sunday morning TV program.  During that time, she authored a book called, “What You Think of Me Is None Of My Business.”  Although Terry’s path changed rather dramatically in the years that followed, one of her legacies is the ideas behind the title.  It doesn’t even matter if you’ve read the book or not—the title alone is something that I refer to on many occasions.  It would certainly be SMART for each one of us to regularly remind ourselves “What others think of us is none of our business.” [Read more…]

Priming the Pump and Other Reasons To “Act As If”

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Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

 

Anyone who has studied positive thinking, New Thought or the Law of Attraction understands the concept of acting “as if.”   You know—acting with confidence and grace even when you’re shaking in your boots, or putting a smile on your face and acting happy even when you woke up feeling terrible.  Many people believe that those actions can actually lead to their desired results.  But while “faking it until you make it” might sound like nothing more than an unsubstantiated urban legend, plenty of evidence now proves the process is beneficial in dozens of ways. [Read more…]

SMART Living—Seeking Wholeness and Balance In Everyday Life

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Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Photo by mbeo on flickr–see link below

Have you been wondering what living responsibly and within your means has to do with positive thinking and happiness?  Or what about articles focused on the search for meaning and purpose, and how those ideas relate to being grateful and appreciating what you have?  And what do any of those have to do with staying curious, open-minded and conscious? In case you haven’t noticed, I write about all these and more here on SMART Living on a fairly regular basis.  And while they might appear at first to be unconnected, I’m convinced that all of these topics and ideas flow together to create a balanced and whole life.  In fact, embracing all of those ideas just might be the perfect way to achieve happiness and a sense of well-being every single day. [Read more…]

Chutzpah and Humility—And Other Habits of the Heart

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Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, SMART Book Reviews

 

Parker J. Palmer’s latest book.

One of my favorite authors is a man named Parker J. Palmer.  Parker comes from the Quaker Tradition which embodies such a genuine depth of spirit and connection that I am always interested in what he has to say.   With a background in education, spirituality, community, and leadership his latest book is Healing the Heart of Democracy.”  And while politics may seem a strange bedfellow to spirituality or even SMART Living, the manner in which Parker approaches the topic is relevant to every single subject I ever write about.   Ultimately, every one of his themes leads to a greater experience of the whole.

 

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