As the final days of 2024 wind down, it is natural to both look back to see what we have to show for them and to look forward to see what we hope to do with them in the year ahead.
We live in moments or minutes or hours. We plan our life in weeks or months. We measure our lives in years. But I believe it is the day that is the simplest and most easily grasped unit of time to consider.
After all, how many times have you asked or answered the question, “How was your day?”
Recently, I rediscovered the song, “Why?” from the movie, Tick, Tick…Boom! It is a love song to both friendship and how we choose to spend our time. It tells the story of the playwright Jonathan Larson of Rent fame, and his best friend Michael. It covers their journey from trying out at a talent show at the YMCA to joining the cast of their high school production of West Side Story to their current lives – where Larson is still working to write his first musical. As he reflects on each of these moments creating or singing with his friend in the song’s three verses, his joy manifests in the chorus: “I think, hey, what a way to spend a day/Hey, what a way to spend a day/I make a vow right here and now/I’m gonna spend my time this way.”
The feeling behind “What a way to spend a day,” is both the best career advice I’ve ever heard and among the best life advice as well.
I appreciate that this might be a more difficult aspiration for many. Life is complicated. We have made choices, now have responsibilities or sunk costs. We may not feel as if we have the luxury to pursue a passion or spend time simply doing what we enjoy. And yet…
“What a way to spend a day,” is not simply about what we’re doing but how we’re doing it. Tick, Tick…Boom! is about finding joy in the time spent struggling and in our imperfect relationships with each other, our work and our time. It is about who and what we are willing to commit to and being comfortable with our sacrifices.
As you look forward to 2025 and consider various resolutions, I wish for myself and for others to have as many days as possible when we are able to have that wonderful feeling of a day well spent.
This Week’s Recommendation. Watch Andrew Garfield perform Why. It is a moving performance at a pivotal moment in the film where he is contemplating what life is all about – as his friend may be dying. The performance is all the more impressive when you consider that Garfield had no prior singing experience before this film.
Share this email with someone you want to spend your days with.