2019 just might be the fastest year to go by ever. We’re already more than halfway through the year! I don’t know how well your year has been going or if you’ve accomplished any of those new years resolutions, but if you’ve been feeling sluggish or need an extra boost, here are some healthy habits to adapt before the next year begins. Keep in mind – these things don’t just happen over night. It takes time, patience, diligence, and dedication. Proverbs 14:23 states, “all hard work brings profit, but mere talk only leads to poverty.” Keep on working!

I know what you’re thinking. You barely feel like getting up for work or school so why in the world would you get up to walk?! But hear me out – there are a ton of pros for walking in the morning, here’s a few: If you’re trying to work out consistently, studies show the best way to form an exercise habit is by starting in the morning. Continuing, morning exercise improves your ability to stay focused throughout the day and gives you more energy. As well as ,the lowest air pollution levels are in the morning – hello fresh air. And lastly, raising your heart rate more in the morning allows your metabolism to burn faster during the day. bye bye calories!

How many times have you heard someone say stop being on social media so much? Maybe it’s time to listen. You do not have to go cold turkey from social media. You don’t have to quit it. Just don’t be so obsessed with it. Instead of waking up and checking out Instagram or Twitter, try listening to a podcast – there’s thousands of them. (Steven Furtick from Elevation Church is a favorite of mine) When you’re on your lunch break, ditch the media, and bring a book, read a devotional, or listen to worship music. The point is, during your time of scrolling the social media you aren’t progressing, growing, or doing anything beneficial for yourself. You could be using that time to grow closer to God, advance yourself in your school or job, or achieving a goal. Try setting up a time during the day that is specifically for social media so you won’t be missing anything but you also won’t be tuned in 24/7.

Even if you only spend $10 a day on food, you’re spending $3,650 a year. Not everyone knows how to cook and that’s fine. Not everyone feels like cooking all the time, and that’s perfectly okay too. However, there are solutions to your problems and its all at your finger tips. Apps such as Tasty will give you step by step directions, ingredients, and will even show you a video on how to prep and cook your meals. They have sections for cheap meals and vegan meals. You don’t even need to know how to cook – just how to follow directions! They also have meal prep options. This way, you don’t have to cook everyday because you would have already made it. Over time, you will learn how to make your favorite meals and save a ton of money. Who doesn’t like saving money?

Compound Interest is a powerful tool: the earlier you start to save, the more money you will make. The sooner you create and practice the habit of saving money, the easier it’ll become. By saving money, you are creating a more comfortable life for yourself in the future. Every paycheck, after you pay your tithes and your bills, pay yourself. Put the money in savings. I’m sure you want to buy that outfit you saw online or those new pair of shoes. Every once in a while it is perfectly fine to treat yourself. Buy the outfit and the shoes to match! But don’t do this every paycheck. Because let’s be real, after awhile you’re going to get tired of that outfit and shoes and want something newer and better. Do not get sucked into this cycle. If you can’t buy that item twice comfortably, don’t buy it. Save your money or invest it until one day you can buy that outfit five times and still be balling. But for now, especially as a young adult, save your money for the future you. He/she will thank you.

Studies show you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Writing your goals down not only allows you to be clear in what you want, but it is also a huge motivator. Seeing your goals on paper helps you examine where you are and the steps you need to take in order to accomplish those goals. A best selling author and self made millionaire, Grant Cardone, lives by this rule: writing his goals down twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. By doing so, Cardone explains, it allows him to dream about his goals and wake up to his goals. Cardone says he is projecting into his future with writing down his goals. It can be as little as writing on a sticky note or buying a journal to write them down. The importance is seeing it on paper and manifesting it into real life.

For the little things and for the big things. You made it another day where some people did not. It may not have been your favorite day or it may have been the best day ever. Regardless, you still have breath. Use it to give Him thanks.