Living for Today

There is a new Zantac commercial that I am finding so relatable to my life right now. Zantac, the popular heartburn medication, has just released this new ad ( or maybe it’s not new, new to me :)) which shows a business woman going through her day,  just living her life. The viewer can see that this woman has a regulated work schedule, she easily completes tasks and goes through the motions of her tasks. However, she then eats a burrito and has heartburn, this heartburn throws off her cookie cutter schedule, until she takes Zantac. After taking the curing medicine she can then return to work productively.

Before I go any further, let me reassure you, I am not blogging about heartburn or endorsing Zantac, it is more the idea and theme of the commercial, than the ad itself that I am interested in. I have only seen it a couple of times, but the more I do, the more I learn from it. Although I don’t believe the creators of this ad had this deeper intention, they certainly got me thinking.

Sometimes, I feel like I live my life on “autopilot”; I just go through the motions of my day without really thinking about what I am doing, especially in the winter. Being a sun worshiper, it’s hard especially for me to get motivated with the zero degree wind chill and snow on the ground. Once I get into this routine, it is so hard to break. Since I have been on school vacation, I especially feel I have been going through the tasks of my day without really thinking about what I am doing, just like the woman in the commercial. I hate this feeling. Although I always try to stop myself, it gets hard when an autopilot lifestyle gets normal, however, after this past Monday I have been doing everything I can to take away this habit.

A few days ago, I watched one of my closest friends get into a car accident (I have permission from her to blog about this of course :)). Although the accident was terrifying, she and the other driver were both very safe and although there was some damage to the car, everyone involved was shaken up more than anything else. As I sat there, pulled over on the side of the road, watching the two drivers exchange information, I started thinking. What did I do  today? If that was me in that car, what would I have thought about in the split second my car crashed into the other? This accident got me thinking about how much I hate falling into the meaningless routine. Just like the woman in the Zantac commercial, up until that point, I was just going through the motions of the day, waking up, going food shopping, picking up my sister from school… all the while my mind was elsewhere, dreaming about something bigger something better, always focused on the next task. But the thing is just like the woman who gets the heartburn, out of nowhere, life can change, with no warning and sometimes with no second chance; that’s why it is so important to live for today. I know it is so cliché’, but I think it’s true, who wants to look back at a day and remember events but have really no memory of being involved in them? Who wants to look back at the motions but have no emotions to relate it to?

Ever since the accident on Monday, I have been thinking a lot about this and ways in which I can inspire both myself and others to live for today, as well as recognize how precious each moment of life is. So I came up with a challenge. Each day I challenge myself (and hopefully through this blog, I will inspire you to challenge yourself) by completing three things each day.

1) Do something you love each day- Whether it’s going for a run or singing so loudly along to the radio, you can’t even hear the real artist (not like I do that or anything..) Just, something for you! My biggest problem, personally with this challenge is that I feel guilty making time for myself, but I have to come to realize, its okay to have “me” time. It’s more than okay, it’s important and encouraged!

2) Do something that scares you each day-Coming from a girl who closed her eyes in The Nancy Drew Movie and hates rollercoasters, this is also a big challenge! Through this though,  I have realized how much fear holds me back just in my everyday life, so I have been aiming just to take steps toward scary.  I watched Craig’s List Killer with my eyes open and I really enjoyed it. So I challenge you to do something as small as that, just to put yourself out there and realize that fear does not have to control you.

3) Tell someone each day how much he or she means to you-I am big into affection. It’s one thing to feel it, but a whole other dimension to express it. My family and friends, mean so much to me, I feel like why shouldn’t I remind them of that?

Anyway, in the end of the Zantac commercial the woman with the heartburn issue takes the Zantac and feels better, after this she slips back into her daily routine with a smile. This is where I stop applying the commercial, because we all have bad days and rough patches, and as much as I wish there was, there is no Zantac pill for life. However, I challenge you to try doing the three things each day I discussed above, I have only done this for a couple of days, but I feel as though it has really helped me break away from the auto pilot lifestyle, as I really hope it does for you as well. Trust me on this one: break out of the meaningless routine, because life is too short to live for tomorrow.