#precold

UPDATE:  A friend posted her strategy for the New Year on Facebook.  She has built an Excel spreadsheet so of course I think it's genius and I'm going to borrow the concept.  Her approach, with some edits, is as follows:         "So I have a spreadsheet to monitor 2013 looking across all 12 months. I have restricted quotas for food and beverages that are making me sick . . . and I have columns for activities that I want to spend more time on.  My real goal is simply to keep track of 20 simple parameters, and to live with more intent and less illusion."

I've built my own spreadsheet, and we'll see how I do (sorry, it's contents are for my eyes only).

ORIGINAL POST

I’ll just come out and say it:  good riddance 2012!  While we had many moments of brightness, the clouds seemed to win.  One of the regular bright spots was my work with the Zicam team (and no, I’m not trying to butter them up).  When I joined Zicam in February, I really believed that we had a diamond in the rough.  I couldn’t fathom how we had products that shortened colds but Zicam wasn’t sitting in the medicine cabinets of 110 million American households.  And while we’re still far from being the cold remedy version of a “chicken in every pot”, we have made great strides and had tons of fun in the process.  I had the good fortune of meeting so many Zicam devotees at BlogHer ’12 and staying in contact with a handful of bloggers.  I’ve been able to connect directly, on occasion, with others through Facebook and Twitter.  And I know we’ve reached a lot of you with our “Chase” TV commercial featuring the Cold Monster.  See how much fun it was to make by watching “How to Make a Monster of a Commercial”.

All that has been great, but the world outside the office walls has been a bit bumpier.  In my little world, I’ve had 4 friends diagnosed with cancer this year and 2 additional friends buried by cancer.  My daughter lost a teenage friend without explanation in the middle of the night.  We were smacked hard by Sandy and the Nor’Easter that followed 1 week later.  We were completely knocked into orbit by a mad man in Newtown, CT and his decision to slaughter innocents and simultaneously shatter the innocence of thousands more.  Sadly, this was only the most recent and most horrific gun-related tragedy in 2012.  My husband had a job change that landed him 1300 miles due west of our home, and I became a single mom of 4 except for every other weekend.  My list is not any longer than anyone else’s and far less gloomy than many.  Believe me, I count my blessings often, but 2012 was certainly a doozer of a year.  So what of it?  As my mother would say, “onward and upward”.  I know I can’t force a good year through sheer will power and hard work.  Yes, fortune favors the prepared mind, hard work pays, and all that.  But looking at the list above, I’m reminded that sometimes things are just difficult.  Rather than throwing in the towel, I work on concrete things and lean on hope for the rest.

Here are my concrete strategies for 2013 happiness, health and sanity (not necessarily in that order).  Feel free to copy and modify to suit you, but please let me know of any great tips!

1.     Planning on luck is not a plan.  My husband often says, “plan on luck”, and I respond, “plan on planning”.  Break big tasks and goals down into parts, make lists with short term objectives or deliverables (and yes, it is sometimes a nightmare to be one of my children!) and GET TO IT

2.     Set distinct goals for the biggies and only the biggies:  health, family, career, happiness.  Don’t lump them together in vague wishes unless you’re a “plan on luck” person.  “Get healthier” is not a goal.  Eat 1 more daily serving of veggies, get cholesterol below 200, walk 10,000 steps each day are goals.  My biggies are:

a.     Exercise every day, even if it’s only for 20 minutes and just stretching

b.     Plan out the days when kids are home from school so work, laundry, anything on Bravo, and X Box don’t consume time without our knowledge or permission

c.      Spend a few minutes at the beginning and end of each day to ponder the good that will happen or the good that has happened in that day.

d.     Require the kids to plan and prepare one dinner each week during the summer (when they’re home). It will improve they’re meal planning and cooking skills, make them cooperate more and improve their appreciation of what it takes to put a meal on the table

e.     Celebrate the small wins with the Zicam team, not just the big ones

3.     Reconnect with friends, new and old.   Send one handwritten note or card to a friend each week of the year.  The life/death challenges faced by so many in 2012 has made me realize that there won’t always be a “next time” for seeing someone.  Isn’t it better to let your friends and family members know how great they are while they’re able to appreciate it? It may feel strange at first, but I am sure that each card will be a pleasant surprise and put a smile on the face of someone dear to me.  Let’s tweet about this and see if we can make it a thing!  How about #weeklynote or #cardsforfriends?

My name is M’lou Arnett and I am the CEO of Matrixx Initiatives, the makers and marketers of Zicam Cold Remedy and the full line of Zicam cold and allergy products.  While I have only been professionally involved with Zicam for about a year, I have been a loyal user for over 6 years.  Even though I am a mother of 4 children and frequently find myself on trains and planes, I have not had a full-blown, “monster of a cold” in 6 years.  They say the average American gets around 3 colds each year.  I know I have gotten colds, but they just haven’t gotten bad enough to bother me. 

My kids are now all teenagers so we are admittedly out of the runny-nosed toddler phase but they still seem to be walking petri dishes.  And would it kill them to throw away dirty tissues or wash their hands frequently?!   Apparently it would.  Still, when they bring it in the house and I feel like I’ve gotten caught, I start my Zicam regimen (citrus rapidmelt Cold Remedy is my preferred form).  My older son is in college and thinks that sleep is overrated and Ramen noodles, Boursin cheese and a Hot Pocket make a balanced 3 course meal.  I have 2 girls, in 12th grade and 9th grade.  Not only do neither of them sleep enough, they are constantly hugging their friends, sharing clothing and food and seemingly doing everything in their power to keep the cold suffering indices as high as possible.  My younger son is also in 9th grade (yep, they’re twins).  He’s big for his age and quite stoic.  I think sheer determination keeps him healthy. He has no doubt scared away any cold viruses that might threaten to take him down.  I hope so, because a 5’11” 14 year old is not a lot of fun when he’s stuck in bed sick.  The girls will take Zicam Cold Remedy zavors when their first sign hits, but the boys are still determined to ignore it.

At work, we talk about our typical Zicam fan as the “proactive avoider”.  Because he or she is juggling so many priorities and doesn’t have time to be sick with a cold (not that any of us does).  The proactive avoider tries to do things to stay healthy and is quick to deal with a cold if it does catch her.  I think I was born for this job because I am the absolute poster child for “proactive avoider”.  Over the years, I have come to realize that a steady effort to take care of myself pays off in how I feel and the frequency with which I get sick (lots and lots of spinach, kale and blueberries and regular exercise.  Adequate sleep is a different story).  That’s why I also made a habit 6 years ago of keeping Zicam Cold Remedy in my purse, desk and medicine cabinet.  I start to take them as soon as I have that first sign that a cold has started. In fact, I got that tell-tale ache on the left side of my throat so I’m in the middle of my Zicam regimen right now.  It won’t prevent a cold, but it does help me to get through it more quickly and with less collateral damage.

Anyhow, I will be returning to this space from time to time to share tidbits about Zicam and those of us who work here.  I’ll also share any other interesting bits that I think might help you manage all that you have on your plate (and I may end up with just a bit of whining about managing things in my life - - we’re all in this world together after all).