Bill Murray might be your favorite actor, but Groundhog Day must be one of your favorite movies of the 90s. Some consider it to be one of the greatest comedy films of all time. It falls into one of the "guy meets a girl" stories. Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell warmed our hearts with their performance. The movie was not only one of the top-grossing films in 1993 but also became a part of popular culture. It earned its part of the English lexicon. We have all used the expression on multiple occasions. And we were all stuck in monotonous and repetitive situations more than once.
Groundcovid Day
After being in quarantine for more than two months, we all have felt like the main character of the movie, stuck in a repetition of the same day, day by day. Each day looked like the other, and we forgot what day it is. In many ways, we have dealt with the situation the way Phil did. Binge-eating, binge-watching, bread making, cooking, doing yoga, training, gaming, online shopping. It is incredible how a simple delivery from Amazon can make your day - that day. Finally, we got the time we never had, and we could organize our lives almost the way we wanted. The world got divided into two introverts and extroverts. And this was the main topic of discussion among friends. But after the initial high, the groundhog day started for everyone. We realized that even if all the time in the world is given to us, it doesn't mean that we would know what to do with it.
The Groundhog Day dilemma
Do you change a place where you are, with whom you are, what you do, or who you are? Being stuck is no news to anyone. The difference between us is how we deal with it. We can run away from a place, from people, from jobs, but we cannot run away from ourselves. The worst groundhog day that we can experience is the one that is happening in our heads. No matter where we are, what we do, with whom we are, being stuck in our heads is the worst kind. Perhaps, COVID-19 helped us realize that we are more stuck in our heads than we wanted to accept or believe.
Phill had a choice
The beauty of life is that we are all given a choice. Instead of trying to spin the earth in the opposite direction, we can choose to do something far simpler. Phil, like each of us, had a choice on how to live his day. It took him a while to find what he was looking for. The role he wanted to play. The influence he wanted to create. The life he wanted to live. The person he wanted to become. Only by realizing those he could wake up to an entirely new day.
Today, I'm the best that I have ever been. Tomorrow, I'll be better
Start with an idea of whom do you want to become. One of my beliefs is that you have to be ready to sacrifice who you are for what you may become at any given moment. Once you know where you want to go, you'll be immunized for the groundhog day. But only if you turn the motivation into action.
There is a simple exercise that you can do. Write your "always be..." statements, expressions, call it as you wish. The idea is that if you have a clear vision of whom you want to become, then "always be..." should be a guide to help you reach there. It doesn't matter if you do it for yourself or a company you work for. Underlining principles work perfectly for both.
Here are my statements:
Always be learning
Always be unlearning
Always be better
Always be curious
Always be listening
Always be exploring
I would rather have these written on my wall than typical corporate values like quality, customer first, or integrity that do not prompt any action.
Each of "always be..." has a story behind, below I briefly explained one of them.
Always be listening - you are an expert in listening to yourself, like everyone else. But instead of listening with that voice in your head, try to listen with your heart. Empathy is crucial if you want to listen to someone. Keep your mind empty and your heart wide open. Only then you will truly listen.
Think about your "always be..." and where do you want them to take you. They are full of intent and clarity no matter the situation you are in.
But today, all together at the same time, we need to "always be better." Today more than ever before, you need to be the best that you have ever been as so many people depend on it. The company you work for depends on it. The world we want to create post COVID depends on it.
Let's all wake up like Phil did at the end of the movie and say, "Today is tomorrow"!
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