Do these 5 things EVERY DAY...

If you follow me on social media (its @msrachelhollis in case you're missing out on the Instagram magic) you know that I have a routine of five things that I do every day. I put this routine together years ago and gave it a snazzy name (Five to Thrive) because I was trying to give my audience some simple tools that would help them to ground themselves in great habits. I asked myself which habits had been the most influential in changing my life for the better and these five were the key. They helped me with my mindset, gave more energy for myself and for others and made me a better mom and a better leader.

I don't believe we're meant to just survive our days... we're meant to thrive. So here are my best daily habits to help you do just that.

1. Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water every day - Whoa, this isn't what you were expecting? Good! I'm here to shock your body out of neutral and get it into drive. Cutting something out of your life is more of a challenge, right? But adding something in-- especially when it's free is much easier to pull off. Will you have to pee every five minutes? Yes! Sorry, not sorry guys. You are flushing toxins out of your system, your skin will never look better, and you'll get fewer headaches. For those of you who think half your body weight in ounces is too much-- I drink my full body weight in ounces of water every single day so don't come at me with how hard it is. This is a habit just like anything else and all habits take commitment to adopt.

2. Cut out a category of food you know you should not be eating for the next 30 days. Pick your poison (literally), and cut it out. Maybe it's fried food, maybe it's fast food, red meat, sugar, chips, bread - choose a category, and avoid it like the plague. This is not a diet. I repeat: THIS IS NOT A DIET (so you can wipe the sweat off your palms, now) - you have every other kind of food to choose from. Do this for 30 days, and this little habit you started, becomes part of your life. This is how I gave up Diet Coke (the former love of my life), and got rid of my crazy addiction to fast food and dairy. Don't get it twisted, I do indulge on holidays or special occasions - but, by removing these foods from my day-to-day for a month, it made me realize I didn't "need" them the way I thought.

3. Move your body every day. Every freaking day, do something active with your body for 30 minutes. It can be a full-on workout or a yoga class or a walk with your dog-- the only thing that matters is that you get your heart rate up for half an hour. Our bodies weren't made to sit on the couch and binge The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel until our butts are numb. Depending on your level of fitness, your 30 minutes might look like a walk with your loved ones, sprinting on the treadmill, taking a spin class, playing in the backyard with your kids or dancing around your kitchen as you make dinner. Whatever it is, wherever you are - move your body intentionally. Remember, if you want to have energy you have to make energy. One final thought on this step-- I have many members of my online community who are differently-abled and so the idea of moving their body is discouraging. I always encourage everyone to do what you can, with what you've got, wherever you are. If you can't move your body, use this thirty minutes to meditate.

4. Get up an hour earlier every morning, and use that hour for you. I can see your eyes widening with fear - keep reading. This hour is for you. This hour is self-care: it's yoga at sunrise, it's finishing the book you want to read (or write!), it's sipping a good cup of coffee and doing your Start Today Journal. It's just what you need. Before you say, "I don't have time," I'd like to remind you: we don't have time for anything, we make time for the things we decide are priorities. If you've been wanting to create a morning routine, this hour is the key to doing it-- especially if you have kids. I need at least an hour before my minions wake up so I can prep for my day without the chaos of breakfast and school lunches. Make the time for yourself, and start your day centered. Now, there is a caveat to this one: if you have a new baby – mama get some sleep. If you work crazy hours and have to get up for a 3 AM shift – holy moly, rest a little longer. If you are a doctor performing 16-hour surgeries –Meredith Grey, don't stress over this one.

Do not take #4 on if it doesn't work for your life.

Instead, find an hour for yourself at a different time in the day – just be intentional and ruthless in pursuit of that time, because it's your time. By the way, in order to wake up an hour earlier, you'll have to go to sleep an hour earlier. You have to readjust your schedule to make waking up an hour earlier work for your body.

5. Write down ten things you're grateful for every single day. This is the big one. If you do absolutely nothing else on this list – do this! Write down ten things you are grateful for that day. I'm talkin' small things. Not a big umbrella item like: "my family" (although, that's a lovely thing to be thankful for.) If you're only extending gratitude towards the big things in your life, you are going to miss out on the simple, beautiful parts of your day – an amazing cappuccino with the perfect amount of foam (can you tell I love coffee?), your kid's laughter, an unexpected "I love you," a compliment from a stranger. Train your brain to look for the small moments of joy and you rewire your mind to spend the day noticing all sorts of blessings. Gratitude is the game-changer. If you want to hear about the daily habit I use to do a gratitude practice each morning, check out this episode of my podcast.

As a community, we're in the midst of an end of year challenge. We call it Last 90 Days... as in, can you live out the last 90 days of the year as intentionally as you tend to begin the first 30 of a new year? The challenge is simple-- everybody commits to doing these five things every day (to the best of their ability) and each week we have a theme we unpack-- like goals or habits or quitting or fear. We walk through this amidst the accountability of hundreds of thousands of people. If you'd like to join in it's totally free (truly, it's the MOST popular thing we do all year) you can do so anytime October - December. Head over to our website to sign up for the email and commit to finishing strong. Or check out the #Last90Days on Instagram to see how others are utilizing the challenge.