This is My Best Year
The quote: “this is my best day” comes from a famous movie starring Billy Crystal. Does anyone have the correct answer yet? Now is the time for me to ramble a bit and give you a few extra seconds to search the personal "hard drive" residing between your ears. Enough stalling—the line comes from City Slickers.
The 1991 hit movie offers many lessons about life and reflecting on our priorities. Spoiler alert: Crystal learns about himself and decides to make some much-needed changes. Of course, it has a happy ending—it’s Hollywood, not real life.
The quote originates from a conversation between Crystal and his buddies. Crystal and two of his closest friends decide to be cowboys and “drive cattle” as they approach their 40th birthdays. Each is experiencing a midlife crisis. Crystal dislikes his job, isn’t performing well, and his relationship with his wife has been rocky for the past year. He has lost his zest for life and hopes the cattle drive will reignite something inside him. The group believes they may find fulfillment during the two-week cattle drive. Along the way, they discover a lot about themselves and resolve to start fresh and be better when they return to reality. No more spoilers, in case you haven’t seen this classic. It’s certainly a classic for anyone approaching a significant birthday.
As you might imagine, there’s plenty of time to kill during a two-week cattle drive. One day, the group starts a conversation about their “best day” and “worst day.” The discussion brings them closer together and leaves everyone reflecting on what a best or worst day might look like. Could your best and worst day occur within the same 24 hours? Crystal’s buddy thinks it might be true for him.
As we end one year and embark on the next, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the past year and consider our hopes and dreams for the future. Maybe you’re a “New Year’s Resolution” type, already writing out your goals with color-coded pens. Or maybe you don’t take the time to reflect on your accomplishments and challenges from the previous year. Either way, taking stock of your successes and challenges is a healthy exercise I’ll admit that I seldom spend much energy on this task, but I’m starting to think I should. We all should take a moment to assess our last trip around the sun.
I am a true believer in the power of reflection. I cannot fathom getting better without taking the time to reflect on the recent past to put forth a better version of ourselves in the future. As I spend time encouraging those that I work with to reflect, I must practice this myself. Few of us want advice from those that are not walking the talk.
Now, I don’t know if I could pinpoint my all-time best or worst day, back to the City Slickers conversation. However, I can come up with some of my successes and failures for the year as I reflect. I am not sure any of us need to delve way back into our past. I know my memory will not allow such a complicated task. I can go back into 2024 to start a list. I can then focus on 2025. What past shortcomings can be improved upon this year?
I encourage you to list five successes from the past year. These could be your best days, like in the movie, or accomplishments you’re proud of. Then, list five failures or goals that you did not accomplish last year, maybe these are your worst days. You can decide on the terminology that resonates with you. Personally, I’m using “successes” and “failures.” And yes, it’s okay to use the word failure. Our best lessons often come from mistakes. As adults, we can be reluctant to admit when we’ve failed. But we all need to get better at acknowledging our shortcomings. So, I am putting myself out there with this abbreviated list to serve as an example.
Here are a few of my successes and failures over the past twelve months.
Successes:
Reaching out to people with random texts to check in, including some folks that I hadn’t seen in years. Connecting to the past did enhance my mood.
Expanding my knowledge of running a business even though there’s still a lot to learn.
Prioritizing people—enough said!
Failures:
Not organizing my work schedule efficiently. I thrive on routine and need to get back to a solid balance of work and play. Too much “goofing off” time this past year.
Not giving enough compliments. Don’t be afraid to tell people what makes them special—you may never get another chance.
Procrastination. Breaking a 60-year habit is tough, but I’m determined to do better in 2025.
I think it is important to express our successes. I think sometimes we view this as bragging. It can turn into bragging if you overdo it. I do think most people know where that line is and can talk about themselves without appearing to be self-centered. Keep in mind, we all deserve to be publicly acknowledged for our accomplishments. Being able to discuss these helps to propel our energy to continue to do good work. Part of this is asking others what they are proud of. If you can do this, each of you will walk away feeling uplifted.
Similarly, it’s valuable to share your failures and your plans for improvement. Making mistakes public can help hold us accountable as we move forward. Don’t shy away from things you failed to achieve. This exhibits vulnerability and is helpful in building stronger personal and professional relationships.
Whether today is your best day, or your worst day is entirely up to you. Whether 2024 had more disappointments than successes are for you to assess. The stories we tell ourselves often shape our outlook on life. Billy Crystal’s character chose to let go of past failures and focus on finding a better path. I hope in 2025, we can all do the same.