"How Do You Measure Your Year?"

"525,600 minutes. 525,000 moments so dear. 515,600 minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?"

One of my favorite musicals is the Broadway hit "RENT." Those above lines come from the opening scene of the play turned Hollywood film and helped viewers ask themselves how do they truly define a year in their lives. As I think about the lesson behind the story's plot, I realize that too often we get so caught up in our everyday lives that before we know it, another year has come to an end and we look back on the year and wonder, "Where did the time go?"

I once heard a famous comedian tell his audience that if you are doing the same thing next year as you were doing the year before, then you, my friend, are not pimpin'. Now granted, this particular comedian explained this life lesson in a more vulgar and comedic manner, however, the lesson still remained true in life today. Indeed if you are living in the exact manner that you were this year as you were last year, you cannot blame anyone but yourself. Too often I hear people blame society and individuals for their downfalls and "slacking' mentality. However, in reality, no one has control over your life except you. You are in the driver's seat and only you can steer, unless you decide to sit in the back seat of life and let someone else drive. For those individuals that tend to let others drive their lives while they sit in the back seat and complain, a little phrase from one of singer Rhianna's songs comes to mind, "Shut up and drive!"

At the end of the year we all hear some New Year's Resolutions that never seem to disappear: lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more, eat more healthy, go back to school, find a job. The list goes on and on. But isn't it obvious that some of the most simple resolutions that we can make for ourselves as individuals is simply changing a few ways that we do everyday tasks to make things even better for us? If you want to earn more money, find something you are good at and make it work for you so it doesn't feel so much like a job. If you want to help a child further succeed in life, try looking in your own neighborhood, church or even family. Even if you want to simply have a more positive outlook on life, simply try surrounding yourself with more positive people. Although these are simply three out of the billions of ways that you can improve your life, there are so many others. You have to determine what works for you, and what will allow you to move further in life with each passing year.

The story of "RENT" not only taught the lesson of living each day as if it is your last. But it stressed each person to look within themselves to find out how they measure the years in their lives. "525,600 minutes. 525,000 journeys to plan. 525,600 minutes. How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?" Each of us will have to face the end of a year as each one passes by and opens the door for a new year. How will you change in the new year? How will you measure your time spent during that year? If you can look back and shut the door and feel confident that YOU can make things better in the new year, then you, my friend, are pimpin' this thing called life, and making it work for you. Make this new year count, and make sure that each one of those 525,600 minutes in a year work for you.