Bill Murray Moments
Tonight and tomorrow most of the world will participate in something that is uniquely human. Something universal will happen as tonight we celebrate, imbibe through, and await with glee the clock striking midnight. We will, together - as a world - look forward to 2019. For some, it will mean the hope that 2019 will offer something better, a new promise of beginnings (or endings), positivity, and prosperity. For others, 2018 was their best year yet and they can’t possibly imagine 2019 holding a candle to it, but they will look forward 2019 all the same.
And with this, most us we will wake up tomorrow (hopefully having avoided a New Year’s hangover) and start to set goals for the new year. Some of us want to lose weight, others want to find “the one,” and others still will look to make the choice to leave their job and start a new adventure. Most of the 7 billion people on this planet will do this in some way. The funny thing is that most of us do this year-after-year. We repeat this each year in the hopes that the next year will be “the year” that we accomplish what we set out to. It is in the planning of these goals each year, that we experience a phenomenon I like to call “A Bill Murray Moment.”
This idea comes from the film “Groundhog Day” as directed by Harold Ramis and starring Bill Murray. If you haven’t seen it...wait...you haven’t seen it? Seriously? Go do it. Now. The rest of us will wait.
You just finished it? Amazing, right? I told you! At any rate, as a quick refresher, Bill Murray has to relive the same day over and over until he finally gets it right - until he learns the lesson he needs to learn, applies it, and breaks the cycle.
That’s what New Year’s Eve represents. Each year we do the same thing, we commit to not getting drunk (again), we commit to celebrating it with those we love, and we decide that this year - for real this time - will be the year that we overcome that addiction, conquer that fear, or take the leap to a new job or new area of the world.
...and what happens about 31 days later? We, collectively, experience another Bill Murray Moment. Only this time, we aren’t hopeful. This time we come armed with excuses, “reasons,” and our resolve is tapped out as we - quietly - give up on those dreams we championed only a few weeks prior.
These Bill Murray Moments happen for the same reason that Bill Murray was stuck celebrating Ground Hog day over and over and over again: we haven’t learned the lesson yet.
So what’s the lesson? Is it not to dream; to give up on making resolutions? No, of course not! The lesson for us is this: in order to achieve a dream we have to perform CPR on the way we dream and set goals. And, just what is CPR when it relates to goals? CPR means:
We have to have a Compelling Reason behind our goal
We have to detailed Plan to achieve our goal
We have to have Recurring Check-ins along with a deadline to achieve the goal (This means to check in on your progress at set times throughout the week, month, year - so that you can see how you are doing (and celebrate accordingly), adjust your timeframe if need be, and get back on track)
By doing a little work, a little CPR, we can avoid Bill Murray Moments and break these cycles in our own lives. So, tonight or tomorrow, when you start envisioning your 2019, make some goals and dream a little. This is fun after all! BUT, if you are serious about achieving them, do a little CPR so that you can not only avoid the remorse of a Bill Murray Moment, but that, instead, you can celebrate the unique victories that come throughout the year!
You can do it! Together, let’s crush 2019!
