I didn't grow up eating meat - I was a vegetarian until I was 18.

Standards are what you hold for yourself, too. If I don't hold those standards with friends, colleagues, and lovers, I can't hold them to their relationships.

Make sure you eat whole foods that are good for your entire body. This doesn't mean that you can't enjoy your food or make room for plenty of indulgences. But your conscious goal has to be to eat for long term health and what you do most of the time is what really counts.

While fad diets might seem like the quick-fix solution to lose weight, they won't help you get healthy in the long run.

Exercise is important, but exercise in a gym is not important. Go and take a walk outside. Skip the umpteenth coffee date and go for a hike instead. Take the stairs. Walk your errands.

Ultimately, it's how you approach things in life that puts a smile on your face.

Tell your kids they are perfect the way they are, but they shouldn't stay where they are forever because growing, testing the limits, and evolving make life better and more fulfilling.