February 3, 2022
Every year, I look forward to Groundhog Day because this is when we find out if we’re going to have six more weeks of winter or an early spring. On February 2nd, we wait for the groundhog to let us know our fate. Unfortunately, Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog, saw his shadow yesterday, which means we’ll have six more weeks of winter. 😒 I can't even tell you how accurate Phil's predictions are, but still, it's all in good fun.
During this time, I can’t help but think about the 1993 movie, Groundhog Day. Have you seen it? In the movie, Bill Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2nd repeatedly. Can you imagine reliving that day over and over again? First of all, it’s wintertime and who wants to get stuck in winter? Not me. I tolerate it by sitting in front of the fireplace and imagining I’m on a beach. But I digressed.
As I think about the movie, I can’t help but wonder how many of us subconsciously live our lives like Bill Murray’s character? How many of us get caught up in a time loop? We are caught up living the same day, same week, same year over and over again. I must admit, I was once guilty of that, too. I was so caught up in the busyness of life that I didn't even notice. I would wake up, brush my teeth, shower, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, wake up, brush my teeth…you get the point. And on the weekends, my routine would slightly change. On Saturdays, I would sleep in sometimes, run some errands, do some chores. Then Sunday would come around, I may or may not go to church, spend time with family. And then Monday, I would start all over again. As the years passed, I realized I hadn’t done nearly as much as I thought I did or could have done. I was caught up letting life (and my patterns) dictate how I lived instead of being responsible for creating the life I wanted. Who can relate to this?
Some people live 75 years while some people live 1 year, seventy-five times. Read that again. But what I've learned is if we keep repeating the same things, nothing will change. We have to be intentional with our lives to have the one that we desire, deserve and love.
So, how can we get out of our own groundhog time loop? Here are a few suggestions:
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Self-awareness. Pay attention to when you’re sliding down the slippery slope of old patterns. What can you do to get out of it?
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Self-examination. It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Assess yourself and analyze what changes you need to make to live the life you’re meant to live.
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Set goals. Know what you want to accomplish and GO FOR IT!
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Interruption. Replace our old patterns with new ones. I remember hearing a story from someone who is a former smoker. As we know, it’s a difficult habit to kick. Instead of purchasing cigarettes, she used that money to buy fresh cut flowers. Every time she saw them on her table, they brought beauty and joy to her life, unlike the cigarettes.
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Be kind to yourself. Give yourself some grace if things don’t change as fast as you’d like. Remember, having self-compassion is courageous.
“When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.” - Tuli Kupferberg
Changing your patterns will inevitably change your life.
(SPOILER ALERT) Just to wrap up with the movie, Bill Murray’s character remained in the time loop until he was able to change his patterns/habits and become a better version of himself. See, there’s a lesson in everything...even Groundhog Day.