• Eliminate or Reduce Soda-I know, this is sad for some of you and I know… what if it has booze in it? i.e. rum and coke. It doesn’t matter. Soda is high fructose corn syrup and food coloring and is TERRIBLE for your body. If you are drinking diet soda, you are doing yourself an even greater disservice since your body cannot process Aspartame because it is a chemical and not a food. Your body is a living organism and was not designed to process chemicals. If you want to feel better, do not ever ingest Aspartame. EVER. PS- you can mix booze with soda water and save yourself from a headache the next morning amongst many other Aspartame side effects. i.e. depression.
  • Get Up 30 minutes to 1 Hour Earlier Each Morning-Whoa…are you sure? Why would we want to lose precious sleep by getting up earlier? The reality is, if you get up earlier you will not be rushed and you will have time for you. Maybe you want to exercise or perhaps drink your coffee and eat breakfast in peace. Do you have children? If so, then you likely want to be able to get yourself ready prior to the little monsters awakening and creating mass havoc upon your household. Getting up early helps you organize your day and plan out the goals you’d like to accomplish without interruptions. If you are able to set a plan for your day without feeling rushed, you are likely going to go through your day calmly and productively meeting your own expectations. 
  • Get Your Heart Rate Up-I don’t care if you have to walk up and down your stairs 20 times each day; do something where you get your heart rate up. It is imperative that you move your body every single day. We were not designed to be sedentary creatures, yet our lifestyle has developed into us sitting and working for the majority of our week. However, your body needs to move. You don’t need to join a gym or sign up for a marathon but make sure you are getting your heart rate up on a regular basis even if you just do some walks in your neighborhood. 
  • Read or Listen to Audiobooks or Podcasts-Your brain is an organ that has remarkable plasticity meaning it can accommodate a multitude of information, experiences and skills over your lifetime. However, you need to be introducing your brain to new experiences and information in order to benefit from it’s plasticity. If you aren’t into books that’s fine, sign up for an online course, a webinar, or watch You Tube and learn a new skill. The idea is that in order to keep your brain healthy, you need to be exposing it to new ideas. In addition to keeping your brain active, you will be proud of yourself when you do learn that skill or gather new information from a book that you can incorporate into your life. 
  • Write a Thank You Note and Send It (I’m talking snail mail)-  There is something very touching about getting a letter or thank you card IN THE MAIL, not some informal email that took you two seconds to write. Think about all the things people do for you every single day. Now, if you are grateful, that alone will make you feel better but how much more impactful to send that person a handwritten thank you card for whatever it is they have done to positively influence your life?