As we prepare to turn a page, it is so helpful to reflect on what has worked this year, what maybe isn’t working anymore, and where you are heading.
It is nice to draw a new map each year.
I turned fifty this past year, and can see much much I have changed in five decades: the challenges, the opportunities, the storms and the ways life has made me stronger. Things have gotten tough: At times I have coped. At other times, it felt like my world had fallen apart and I had no idea where to go next. I faced life, and I made mistakes and I learned how to grieve.
As s this year draws us to a close, I am still here. I remind you that you are still here, too.
I attribute the fact that I am still here on several key things. I have summed them up in 50 habits, tips and ideas that shape my life. Some of them are on my “work in progress” To Do list this 2023. I am not there yet. (*) How many of us are?
We are all works in progress.
Here are 50 Habits, Tips and Ideas to Build a Healthier Life
- Drink water.
- Sleep 7-9 hours a night.
- Exercise for 150 minutes weekly, at a moderate to vigorous intensity.
- Walk every day.
- Stretch every day.

6, Eat a fresh diet with a focus on vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, eating the rainbow.
7. Reduce/ eliminate alcohol. No more than 1-2 drinks weekly.
8, Meditate or do breath work for at least five minutes daily. Make time and space for mindfulness.
9. Write in a gratitude journal at night.
10. Tell the people in your life you love them….often.
11. Hug and kiss as much as possible.
12. Never do a job simply for money.
13. Figure out what sets your soul on fire and go after it.
14. Give more than you receive.
15. Strength train 2-3 times a week: with body weight, resistance bands, or dumbbells.
16. Do balance/ core training daily. You will thank me when you are 90.
17. Spend time in nature.

18. Stop eating three hours before bedtime.
19. Stop scrolling and turn off blue light devices two hours before bedtime.
20. Practice restraint of pen and tongue: when you want to react, pause or delay. If you can wait 24 hours, do that.
21. Begin your day writing out a few intentions – ideally with warm lemon water (½ lemon squeezed in warm water)
22. Read 3-5 pages nightly (books / magazine – not digital)
23. Plan breathing breaks in your day: set a timer on your phone. Simply breathe for one minute.
24. Cultivate new friendships and let go of toxic ones.
25. Seek Joy: Explore hobbies and passions that make time irrelevant, whether it is playing an instrument, writing, gardening, roller skating *
26. If you like sports, join a team. If you don’t, choose something from childhood that made exercise fun – swimming, skiing, jumping rope, hopscotch *
27. Practise social media fasts once per week – go off your phone for 6 hours minimum.*
28. Use your calendar efficiently – put everything into it *
29. Write To-Do lists on Paper – don’t try to remember everything. You can’t. You won’t.
30. Sign up for a course. Always be learning.
31. Focus on what’s in front of you: If that means putting away phones at dinner, not bringing the laptop everywhere, or just being in the moment. Limit multitasking *
32. Schedule social media/ news time: Apps are designed to keep us addicted. Overrule this control of your time *
33. Drink green tea.
34. Add probiotics to your diet – in supplements or in natural food form: Greek Yogourt, Kefir, Sauerkraut, Tempeh
35. Listen to podcasts and audiobooks when you are commuting, walking, folding laundry or in the spaces in life.
36. Plan recovery: from exercise, work and life. Turn off the phone, have a massage, soak in a bath. Just be. *
37. Meal Prep: This will be the single-most important thing that will improve your diet and your health.
38. Write down “fun” lists: plan fun once per month.
39. At the end of the day, make a short list of what didn’t work that day – seeing it on paper helps us make changes.
40. Declutter room by room. Then, do it again. *
41. Embrace failure and look for the lesson.
42. Learn how to ask for help.
43. Listen with both ears.
44. f you wake up and truly dread the day ahead, change as soon as you can. See Tip #11.
45. Accept that grief is going to be a part of your life. Face it: Learn to cry, to feel and to move forward again.
46. Go to the ocean, as often as you can.
47, Be kind.
48, Be humble
49, Be helpful
50. Be grateful
Become the person the world needs you to be.