In order to stay in shape, we must do more than just eat right and exercise. A healthy lifestyle also involves maintaining good mental health, a positive attitude, and a strong sense of self. But where do you start? What is the best approach to achieving a healthier version of yourself?

The simple adjustments you can make right now can lead to positive changes down the road. Keep a slow and steady approach. Begin by identifying bad habits and taking action to address and change them. Starting new and healthier habits is challenging but if you stick to them, they will easily become a part of your daily routine.

A new year's resolution list is relatively easy to make, but fulfilling everything on the list proves to be the most challenging. If you want to break from the cycle of failing your resolutions every year, you should know how to fire up your motivation and never give up when faced with obstacles. This sounds easier said than done.

We all have different goals from stabilizing our personal growth and adopting healthier habits to focusing on our happiness. Whatever you plan to achieve this year is doable if you believe in yourself. But that alone is often not enough to follow through with what we have written on our list.

With the start of the New Year, are you making some resolutions about your finances? Here are a few tips that might help you reach some goals for 2023:

Your goal during the holidays should be to enjoy yourself and your loved ones, but that's practically impossible to do if you're feeling too much stress. Here are some things you can do to prevent that anxiety from spoiling your good times:

1. Pay attention to your health.
Too many projects and activities can stress anyone out, but don't let them keep you from taking care of yourself. Make sure you're getting plenty of sleep, eating properly, and exercising. Combat winter's dry air by taking steamy showers. Dress warmly and appropriately during cold weather. There's nothing like getting sick to take all the fun out of the holiday season.

Does the thought of holiday shopping leave you with that not-so-merry feeling? Here are some tips that can help save you time, money, and stress this holiday season:

Feeling blah? Maybe it's the potato chips. Or the coffee. Yes, it really could be your diet. We have a tendency to first turn to caffeine when we're running low on energy, but then we can feel jittery and have that hard crash. Instead of coffee, try some green tea. There's still some caffeine content, but green tea contains an amino acid, L-theanine, which helps promote relaxation, so you won't get that jittery feeling.

It's never too early to start teaching your children about money. Even preschoolers can begin to understand money concepts by playing pretend store or restaurant games. 

Money lessons for five-year-olds

At age five, you can teach your child words like savings, bank, check, bills, and trade-off. A piggy bank is an easy way to demonstrate how the child can save for something that he or she really wants. Make a game of it; count the coins once a month, and create a chart showing how close they are to their goal. 

An exciting summer vacation doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. The United States of America maintains hundreds of national park and beach sites just for you! Visit the National Park Service website to find locations near to your home or far, far away. Many national parks offer admission for free or for a low price. Read on for some cool things you can do at national recreation sites.

Celebrate a fun Valentine's Day with your partner! But how? As this celebration continues year after year, you may run out of ideas. If you want something different from roses and chocolates, this list can help!

With the start of every New Year, we all hope there's a healthy new us just around the corner. Instead of finding the same old us two or three months from now, here are a few things we can do differently this year:

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas ...perhaps ... means a little bit more!"

~ Dr. Seuss (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas)

The holidays are bright and beautiful. There’s nothing quite like going out on a chilly night to see the lights glistening against a backdrop of new fallen snow. You have tinsel sparkling and carolers singing. You might catch the aforementioned Dr. Seuss Christmas special on TV or maybe go old school with the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. There’s the anticipation of the big day, and of course, there’s the wonderful smorgasbord of holiday goodies to munch on, made even more special by the fact that you only get to enjoy them for a short time.

Thanksgiving is the most widely celebrated holiday in the United States. For many families, this is the only time during the year that they are together, and they have many ways to celebrate their togetherness - mainly the annual feast. 

As the story goes, the first Thanksgiving was all about the pilgrims being thankful for the food that had been provided to them by the local Wampanoag tribe, and even today, when we think of counting our blessings, food should be included.

If you just feel like there never seems to be enough money to do anything extra, it could be time to take a look at how you're handling your finances.  

Sometimes even small changes can make a big difference.

Laughing just feels good. When you laugh really hard, tears may fill your eyes and your stomach may hurt, but it stills feels good. Laughter is fun. Probably some of your best memories are of you and your friends or family laughing together. You always remember a funny movie or a really good joke that made you laugh out loud. Laughter brings joy to your life.

Getting active is a key part of a healthy lifestyle. By starting young, you can build a fun and healthy habit for a lifetime. Teens and young adults can find ways to live healthy and happy through sports activities in high school and beyond.

Parents (and grandparents) -- please feel free to share this with the middle- and high- school students in your family and circle of friends. Playing athletics in a healthy and smart way will help them gain skills that last a lifetime.