How will you spend your 25,915 days?

Reebok launched a new ad campaign a few months ago that plays up that the average human lifespan is about 71 years or to be more precise: 25,915 days.

The Reebok commercial produced by San Francisco-based advertising agency Venables Bell & Partners follows one woman’s life in reverse order, from her participation in a Spartan race as a senior runner to her days running as a school girl and all the way back to the day she was born. At each point along the way, you get to see the number of days the woman has remaining in her life.

Making the days count

Some people who’ve seen the “Honor Your Days” commercial have been creeped out by it. I prefer to run in Brooks Adrenaline running shoes over Reeboks, but I’ve come to love the commercial. Whenever I see it, the upbeat soundtrack inevitably makes me want to get up out of my chair, lace up my running shoes, and go for a run. I like too how the commercial challenges viewers to reflect and make the most of their life.

It’s a question worth asking: How do we want to spend our days? We all have limited time. The clock is ticking for each of us. We’re all operating on borrowed time. My church missalette recently phrased it this way: We’re all in a line waiting for the end, waiting for death, and the line is constantly in motion.

The statement couldn’t be more morbid, but it hits home. We can eat right. We can take care of ourselves. But even then life can throw a wrench into our plans. In fact, I feel like I’ve heard too many stories lately of family, friends and acquaintances fighting various forms of cancer and life-threatening diseases. These stories serve as a cold reminder that life is short and you have to make the most of it.

Living a full life

So I’ve naturally been thinking about how I want to spend my time on Earth. Here’s a few thoughts (at least the ones that have risen to the top of my mind on my long commute to and from work over the past couple of weeks):

1. Live a life of faith.
2. Live a life filled with family and good friends.
3. Live a life of meaning and service to others.
4. Give my best effort in everything and live a life of significance to those around me.
5. Live a life of virtue and character. (It’s a trite and overused thought, perhaps, but at the end of the day, I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and be content with my contribution and how I’ve lived my life.)
6. Live a life filled with laughter, tears, learning, joy and peace.
7. Live a life “in the moment.” (Yes, I have goals and work hard to achieve them, but I don’t want to be regretful of the past or wishing away for tomorrow to come. I want to live my life in the present.)

With more time and effort, I’m sure I could come up with a more complete and comprehensive list, but I figure if I work toward meeting these seven goals, then I’ll have lived a full 71 years.

Yes, a full and complete 71 years, if not in years, then certainly in spirit!