5 Daily Habits to Help You Thrive, Part 1
Every year, on December 31st, something peculiar happens in America. With Christmas past and the New Year just around the corner, a wave of inspiration sweeps across the nation. The most popular resolutions made by Americans in 2025 included saving money, eating healthier, exercising more, losing weight, spending more time with family, quitting smoking, and reducing living expenses, just to name a few.[1]
As January rolls around, we tend to become quite passionate about our resolutions for the coming year: the gym we will join, the weight we will drop, the financial goals we will hit. But how many of us get fired up about our daily resolutions?
I believe that daily habits are one of the most undervalued tools for a thriving life. While there is nothing inherently wrong with establishing resolutions for the coming year, milestones for the coming quarter, or goals for the coming month, sometimes these approaches can become daunting. If we are not careful, a lofty goal can result in abandonment, resulting in yet another New-Year’s-resolution-deserter.
Perhaps if we begin focusing on our daily habits, we might become better equipped to tackle the bigger goal. After all, a yearly goal is built by 365 days of effort. In part one of this two-part series, I will walk through five daily habits that have significantly improved the rhythms of my life.[2]
1. Wake Up at a Consistent Time Each Day
Many people have their work day wake up time and their weekend wake up time. But, waking up at a drastically different time each day can throw off the body’s internal clock and disrupt your circadian rhythm.[3] A circadian rhythm is the body’s 24-hour internal clock which regulates mood, metabolism, and the immune system.[4] Thus, strive to wake up around the same time each day, within the same hour if you can. And yes—that means even on the weekends! Over time, this habit starts your day with a sense of stability and regularity, resulting in higher energy levels over time.
2. Hydrate First Thing and Throughout the Day
Please, do not reach for your coffee first thing in the morning! Reach for water, specifically mineralized water. You can add minerals to your water through mineral drops, electrolyte powders, or simply by a pinch of unrefined mineral salt. Drinking water throughout the day is important, but especially first thing in the morning. This begins your day with hydration, which will help wake you up, slowly elevate your cortisol levels (whereas coffee would spike it) and will get the digestive system moving (if you know, you know).
Enjoy a cup of coffee (with your breakfast!) or maybe some tea, but strive to sip on water throughout the day. Strive for the purest water that you can obtain (I really like reverse osmosis filtration systems) and add minerals of some kind to ensure that you are truly hydrated.
3. Do NOT Skip Breakfast
The old adage that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” was created for a reason. This meal can either set you up for success or for failure. You want to strive to break your overnight fast with a high protein meal, to prepare your blood sugar for the day ahead and keep you satiated until lunch. Skipping breakfast actually can put the body in fight-or-flight, adding to your overall stress load.
To all my menstruating ladies out there—please do not skip breakfast! Lily Nichols and Lisa Jack-Hendrickson write in Real Food for Fertility that, “your body expects food in the morning to kickstart your metabolism.”[5] Skipping (or delaying) that first meal of the day has a negative effect on the reproductive system and menstrual cycle health.[6] Though intermittent fasting works well for some people, women in their cycling years should approach it with caution.[7]
4. Spend Time With God
Notice, I assigned no specific time to this habit. While I do enjoy reading my Bible and praying in the early hours of the morning, I know that this does not work for everyone, in every season. If you are in a tough season of life—postpartum, transitions, or stress—you may not get to spend time with God in the same ways that you used to. But I challenge you: whether it is a season of thriving or surviving, strive to spend time with the Lord each day.
I have been so challenged by Jesus’ prayer life in the Gospel of Mark. In Mark 1:35, we see Jesus rising very early in the morning, leaving a slumbering town to go to a desolate place and pray. But then, we see in Mark 6:46, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and then retreats away to pray—in the evening. It struck me that Jesus prioritized time with His Father, even when that meant praying in the evening. So, find your ideal time for devotions, and then be flexible to pivot when hectic days come your way.
5. Move Throughout the Day
The average American is what I like to call “gym-sedentary.” You head to the gym early each morning for a 30-minute lift, then sit in your car to commute to work. After sitting for an 8-hour shift, then you plop into your car and drive home. You sit at the table for dinner, and then migrate to sit on the couch for evening TV. Even if this person goes to the gym each day, my friends, this is not an active lifestyle.
I know that this habit is challenging—you have a busy schedule, work demands, and family responsibilities. This will require a mentality shift: you must have eyes to see movement opportunities in a sedentary society. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Play with your children at the park instead of watching them. Pace the halls on your work call. Meet a friend for a walk instead of coffee. Use your lunch break to walk around the building.
For those of you number-and-goal oriented folks out there, I would aim for 7-10k steps each day. A recent study notes that walking 7k steps daily reduced the middle-aged person’s risk of premature death.[8]
Look out for part two, where I will walk through five more daily habits that have helped me to thrive.
Footnotes:
[1] “Most popular New Year's resolutions in the United States for 2025,” Statista, accessed July 21, 2025, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1076508/most-popular-new-year-s-resolutions-in-the-united-states/.
[2] These are not necessarily listed in order of importance!
[3] Josh Axe, “Circadian Rhythm: How to Reset Your Internal Clock to Optimize Health,” Dr. Axe, accessed July 24, 2025, https://draxe.com/health/circadian-rhythm/.
[4] Axe, “Circadian Rhythm.”
[5] Lily Nichols and Lisa Hendrickson-Jack, Real Food for Fertility, (Fertility Food Publishing, 2024), 50.
[6] Nichols and Hendrickson-Jack, Real Food for Fertility, 50.
[7] Nichols and Hendrickson-Jack, Real Food for Fertility, 52.
[8] “Meta-Analysis of 15 Studies Reports New Findings on How Many Daily Walking Steps Needed for Longevity Benefit,” University of Massachusetts Amherst, March 2, 2022, https://www.umass.edu/news/article/meta-analysis-15-studies-reports-new-findings-how-many-daily-walking-steps-needed.