SMART Book Reviews Archives — Page 5 of 6

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…]

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Avoiding Regrets = A Happier Life

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

A musician friend named Rudi Harst wrote a song titled, “Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.” It’s both a catchy tune and a great reminder that feelings of regret can hold us back from living a happy and fulfilled life. But I suspect that one reason why the song makes us laugh and wince at the same time is because we all wish on some level that we could do one or two things differently, that we’d made at least one other choice along the line, or that we’ve neglected to do something we wished we had. Still, what I’ve discovered over the last couple of days is that regret isn’t one of those negative emotions like fear, shame or jealousy that has little or no redeeming value. Instead regret can serve as a signpost for pointing out choices and changes that can help us lead a SMART and happier life—365. [Read more…]

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Nine Simple & SMART Ways To Say No

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

Using humor is always one way to say “no!”

When I sat down today to make up my to-do list it occurred to me that this was going to be a very busy week. And to make matters worse, I had no one to blame except myself. For much of my life I’ve had trouble saying no to people, especially when it comes in areas I think are important. But as I’ve mentioned before, I recently read Essentialism—The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Not only does the book focus on eliminating everything that is unessential in our lives so we can focus on what really matters, McKeown suggests that learning to say “No” is a critical and courageous step required to do just that. So for those of us on the path to simplifying our lives or those of us who want to live by design rather than default, it is very SMART to learn ways to say No from here on out. [Read more…]

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What Are You Nexting? The Power of Positive Anticipation

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, SMART Book Reviews

One of the best words I came across this last year during my reading was the word “nexting.” Used by author and research scientist Shane Lopez in his book Making Hope Happen, it describes the act of planning things in the future to look forward to, in a positive way. I’ve also been doing a lot of listening to Abraham-Hicks and the Law of Attraction where I’ve been continually reminded that what we think about and focus on is “attracted” automatically into our lives. In addition, as a long-time student of New Thought, I know that what I dwell upon often becomes my day-to-day reality. So with summer upon us, I think it might be SMART for each of us to spend some time nexting the positive events we hope to experience during the coming months. [Read more…]

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Essentialism—A Better Way To Describe Minimalism?

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

Making the messy and complicated simple.

I’ve been writing about the value of sustainability, simplicity and minimalism for over six years. Because it’s a big part of living SMART, I’m always on the lookout for ways to introduce new people to the idea and explain the value and incredible advantages that such a perspective offers. Maybe that is why I synchronistically stumbled across the word “essentialism” during a recent Internet surf about how to create more meaning and purpose in a person’s life. Author Greg McKeown uses it frequently in his best selling book, Essentialism—The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. And after reading the book, it’s possible that Essentialism just might be a new and better way of describing what so many of us seek when pursuing minimalism or a simple life. [Read more…]

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Be-Good or Get-Better? Your Choice Says A Lot About You

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

Which are you?

A couple of months ago I received a recommendation on Amazon that caught my eye. The title was Succeed—How We Can Reach Our Goals by Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. Frankly, the title didn’t impress me much. Haven’t we all read too many books that claim the same thing, only to nod in agreement while stifling a yawn? What hooked me instead were the reviews. Dozens of reviewers said, “It’s a smart, fun, highly practical look at what we ‘scientifically’ know about setting and achieving goals.” As a person who enjoys learning why people do what they do (or don’t do what they should do), this book backs up its claims with scientific research. And while the pursuit of goals is the focus of the book, it is done in terms of behavior psychology and research. In fact, a key strategy to learning how a person pursues a goal is to discover whether they like to “Be-Good” or “Get-Better.” That choice says a lot about us and often determines whether or not we eventually succeed. [Read more…]

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Choosing To Thrive and Live The Happiness Advantage

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

“…study after study shows that happiness precedes important outcomes and indicators of thriving.” ~ Shawn Achor

As a long-time student of happiness and well-being I had no choice but to buy the book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. Of course the truth is, I did have a choice—just like every single one of you. But as a major focus of the book explains, even though most of us realize we can take steps to improve our ongoing feelings of happiness, and grow a “happiness advantage,” we still sometimes avoid it or resist it altogether. The reason we avoid this type of thriving, and what we can choose instead is well worth the time to explore. [Read more…]

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How Habits Can Change Your Life For The Better

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

Most of us will admit to having a habit or two. Some may even admit to having quite a few. It is the rare individual that will admit that more than 40% of their daily actions are habitual—but that’s true according to Charles Duhigg in his book “The Power of Habit—Why We Do What We Do In Life & Business.” Like it or not, as humans we are creatures of habit. However, whether those habits are good or bad—and whether those habits are completely unconscious or purposely planned is largely within our control. In fact, learning what habits are and how they are created is an important step in creating a SMART life. [Read more…]

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Argue For Your Limitations And They’re Yours—Another Case Of Motivated Reasoning

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

Have you ever heard the statement, “Argue for your limitations, and they’re yours?” In case you’re wondering, that quote comes from a book written by Richard Bach titled, “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.” When I first read it years ago I thought I knew what it meant. What’s interesting is that I seem to need to learn that lesson over and over again.

Limitations, of course, are any excuses I use to hold myself back and not live the life I dream of living. Limitations are also the rationalizations we all use for doing or not doing something, or believing or not believing just about anything. The big problem is that limitations seem so real that we often think we have no choice but believe them. Fortunately, there is now scientific proof that much of what is going on in our minds are stories we tell ourselves—that may or may not be, true. So if we are making up stories as we go along—why on earth would we invent stories that limit us and hold us back?

[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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