Happy Groundhog Day! Admit it. When you realized that today was Feb 2nd, you thought of the movie. After that you thought of being in a rut. You wondered if you were in a rut. If fyour 2023 goals have stalled.
It’s hard to believe it’s now 30 years since the movie came out. Equally hard to believe it’s impact on our culture. It’s changed the meaning of the word Groundhog Day.
I wonder if it would have been the same if the movie had been based on New Year’s Eve? Would it change how we look at resolutions. And as a result, make us focus on how we make they stick. Not sure.
There is something about this time of year that makes you think about shaking things up. I think it is partly the change in sunlight. A hint at spring fever, but not quite yet.
We long to get out of winter doldrums.
It’s now February. At work you’ve finished the annual review. Held the kickoff. Committed to your 2023 goals. And now it’s February.
Reality starts to kick in.
You wonder if you really can get traction on the transformations you want to happen this year. Has enough time passed to tell? Do you have sufficient data collected to tell? Moreover, does a few weeks of different outcomes represent a trend?
Good questions to ask.
One of the big things about sustaining change is to recognizing that change has phases. Firstly, there is the fresh new beginning that gives us a bump. Secondly, we move into the messy middle when we aren’t really sure it was worth it. Finally, through continuted commitment to follow through to the end, we make it happen.
Unfortunately, a lot of change initiatives get snagged in the messy middle. Doomed to be abandoned. Or worse, in a loop where you repeat trying.
Not only true for personal resolutions, but just as true for our digital transformation projects. In fact, it may contribute to the fact that most transformation projects fail. Because some of those don’t technically fail, they stall.
Take a moment to breathe. Recognize you are in the messy middle. Pause. Adjust. Continue.
Then finally one day, you wake up and notice that things are different! You are out of the rut.
