Thursday, February 2, 2012

Ground Hog Day



Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day then spring will come early. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

In the classic film version celebration of this day, a self-centered TV meteorologist Phil Conners played by Bill Murray keeps waking up to find that he is reliving February 2nd over and over again. Each subsequent day is the exact same loop played over and over. Phil is the only one aware of the time loop and the reoccurring day. If you watched the above clip you can see Phil's frustration mounting as he wakes up day after day to his radio alarm and the Sonny and Cher tune, "I've Got You, Babe".

If we aren't careful, all of us, individually or corporately, can easily get stuck in our movie version of Ground Hog Day reliving yesterday today, tomorrow, and forever. We can get stuck in a rut of sameness.

In 2001 I was installed as the new manager of a west coast district. After the meeting was over, Dennis (one of our top reps) came up to me and said, "It's not Ground Hog day anymore". Unsure of his meaning I questioned him further. He went on to say that the ideas and procedures I introduced were a radical shift from anything he had experienced with that company. Referring to the movie, he explained, "We're not doing the same thing over and over anymore." Dennis repeated the phrase after other meetings.

I have been writing about many of the traps we face: personal, familial, organizational, and cultural. These deceptions keep us stuck, from our highest strengths, and keep us from realizing our full blown potential.

Today is the day to break out of your personal Ground Hog Day. You can start small but start. Identify a personal talent. Make sure it's a talent that makes you feel strong before, during, and after it's use. Deliver it somehow. Serve someone with the talent. Help someone with the talent. Make some kind of contribution however small.

Make a commitment to develop the talent into a full blown strength. Add skills and knowledge that compliment this innate gift.

Then pick another talent and do the same. Most of us have 3-5 categories of activity that we are crazy good at naturally and could be insanely great if we developed them.

Your Moment of Truth: It's not Ground Hog Day anymore!
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