awareness Archives — Page 2 of 12

Is It SMART To Do A DNA Test And Ancestry Tree?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Mom, Dad and my older sister Ann in 1955.

I tend to be the sort of person who looks to the future rather than the past. But when some good friends of mine did their DNA test several months ago I had to admit a curiosity. Then when one of them discovered an unusual family link, I couldn’t help but wonder if mine might contain something unexpected as well. So with some casual curiosity, I signed up my husband and myself for the process. What did I learn? And is it worth the time, money and effort? Maybe yes, maybe no.

It turns out that some people are obsessed by their family tree. An article in Salon Magazine claims that Genealogy may indeed be “the second most popular American hobby after gardening and the second most visited category of Web sites after pornography.” My interest doesn’t run nearly that deep! [Read more…]

30 Days At The Beach Or Why We All Need To Take A Break

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Responsible

Like I said in my post last week, Thom and I are spending the month at the beach. Our primary excuse is to escape the heat of our desert home. But frankly, what we really needed is an experience away from the habits and routines of daily life. And because this works so well for us, I feel fairly confident that it just might be what we all need now and then to really appreciate the life we have created. Don’t believe me? How about I give you a few reasons why we find it so beneficial and you can then decide for yourself? [Read more…]

Category Busters, Dogs With A Bone, Liberation and Other Thoughts on Positive Aging

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

Thinking is contagious. In other words, what we focus on and spend time mulling over in our minds routinely shows up over and over in wanted or unwanted ways. Worried about something? Chances are you will wake up in the middle of the night with those fears running through your head like a wild horse. Intrigued by something? Curious? Delighted? Without a doubt, you will find trails of those ideas leading in all sorts of interesting directions.

That’s why it was no surprise when I stumbled upon a newsletter called Positive Aging by The Taos Institute while surfing the Internet. There I found a newly released book entitled, Paths To Positive Aging—Dog Days with a Bone and Other Essays and I emailed and asked for a review copy. As hoped, this small book of essays generated all sorts of new ideas about aging that I found remarkable. And so it goes. [Read more…]

We Didn’t Come To Get It Done

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Responsible

With Memorial Weekend right around the corner, I think a lot of people are making plans for summer vacation. I know I am. I’ve also read that people spend more time planning their vacations than they do their lives—but that’s another topic for another blog post. Then this morning I listened to another lecture by Abraham-Hicks and through the course of a question and answer period Abraham said, “You didn’t come to get it done.” Another way of saying that is, “It’s the journey, not the destination.” However, if you are anything like me, I need to be reminded over and over that the gift of today is reason enough for my life. What about you? [Read more…]

10 Reasons Why Rightsizing Is The Perfect Path To A Happy Retirement

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Responsible, Sustainable

A big topic in my age group is retirement. About half of my friends are looking forward to it while the other half are already there. As for Thom and I, we see ourselves standing with a foot on both sides. We aren’t retired, but neither are we chained to our work. What makes us different from others hoping to retire soon is that we’ve embraced what I call rightsizing. Rightsizing is a process that any of us can do to come into greater alignment with our most cherished values and goals. On a practical level, rightsizing points to actions we can make at any age that will help before, and especially after, a person retires.

In case you are wondering, I am not a financial advisor. Most retirement “planning” comes from people who would like to manage your finances. That approach tends to put the focus on how much money you make, how much money saved, and how much you need in the future to maintain your current lifestyle. Rightsizing, on the other end, downplays money and instead puts the focus on what is most rewarding in your life.
[Read more…]

Five Reasons Why Home Exchanging Can Be A SMART Way To Travel

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Responsible

Thom and I in front of the main square and Parroquia Church in San Miguel de Allende

During the last couple of weeks my husband Thom and I visited San Miguel de Allende, MX. This location captured our interest several years ago, especially after learning that this small beautiful city boasts a nearly perfect year-round temperature, warmly welcomes American visitors, and offers flights at very low costs. As with most trips, we prefer to stay in apartments or homes in order to more fully experience any location. This year we tried something completely new—a home exchange. In other words, we offered our home here in southern California in exchange to stay in another owner’s home in San Miguel de Allende. Two weeks later, we are back to share what we learned from it and why we believe home exchanging is a SMART way to travel. [Read more…]

25 Quotes That Help Me Remember The Wisdom That Less Is Always More

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Sustainable

Several weeks ago my husband Thom began reading a blog post offered to him from LinkedIn. It started out with a catchy title but quickly slipped into a bad rerun of something from the Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous. You may remember that TV show from the 1990s when everyone was hell-bent on buying big expensive everythings no matter what the cost. Even worse than the implication that you should own extravagant and expensive cars, the author suggests that you lease rather than buy. After all, when leasing you can start driving a more expensive car than you can actually afford. Perhaps even worse, in true 1990s speak he then started selling us all on attending his seminar and paying the large entrance fee where he would share his “wealth secrets” with all of us. [Read more…]

Going Beyond Trauma And Pain To Reveal Post Traumatic Growth (PTG)

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Responsible

Most of us are familiar with the idea that trauma, especially extreme trauma like war, rape or life-threatening illness, can lead to a condition called PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome.) But what many might not realize is that many people who have experienced those extreme tragedies not only learn to cope and adapt but actually manage to thrive. Called Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) these resilient people appear to be both “antifragile” and “stress inoculated.” Best of all, this mindset allows them to do better than “bounce back” from whatever trauma they have experienced, but rather to “bounce forward” in strong and meaningful ways.

It occurred to me the other day that many people I know are experiencing a certain degree of PTSD during the last several months. Perhaps the SMARTest thing any of us can do would be to cultivate the possibility of PTG into our everyday lives so that we adjust, learn and create something new and better in the days ahead. [Read more…]

Why Rightsizing Works For Anyone At Any Age And Any Location

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Responsible, Sustainable

This last week Thom and I led a discussion group about Rightsizing. It is something we’ve wanted to do ever since writing about it here on the blog during the last four or five years, and then after publishing the book, Rightsizing—A SMART Living 365 guide to Reinventing Retirement last year. Because we are so passionate about the topic, it was great to gather with others who are either curious or equally excited about the benefits. And as we suspected, the topic is so rich that no matter where any of us are on the path, each of us can learn something from every other person’s example. It boils down to the simple fact that quality always tops quantity. [Read more…]

In Praise of the Frugal

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Responsible

A good friend named Mark recently bought a new truck. To call it a pickup is grossly inadequate. Mark arrived one day in this shiny enormous vehicle with four doors, cushy soft leather seats, a fully digital dashboard with onboard space-like technology, a moonroof that spanned the entire length of both the front and back seats, and automatic retractable step-bars that lower and raise as you open the doors. I’ll admit I was a bit envious as I looked at my aging twelve-year-old Nissan Murano sitting next to it. But after hearing the “great deal” Mark got by paying only $50,000 for a $65,000 priced truck, all envy evaporated. My Murano is free and clear, still looks decent, and reliably gets me everywhere I want to go. Meanwhile, our family savings sits safely secure in investments that generate automatic cash flow. Instead of envy, I now have pride—pride in the benefits of a frugal and rightsized life. [Read more…]