February is probably best known for St. Valentine’s Day but it begins with another less well-known celebration. February 2nd is Groundhog Day. On this day the groundhog comes out looks for his shadow and tells the assembled citizens whether winder will continue for a further 6 weeks or there will be an early spring. The celebration is thought to link back to European traditions – some say Celtic others link it to Candlemas.
However, the term groundhog day passed into common usage as a result of the movie made in 1993. Shortly afterwards, it became used to describe when a series of events usually unpleasant keeps recurring. The movie has Bill Murray play Phil, self-obsessed news reporter trapped in a time loop who finds that whatever he does on the day he ends up back at 7:00 a.m February 2nd each time he awakens. He replays the day in a range of ways – which are self-destructive at first but over time he decides to use his time more usefully even learning to play the piano and learn French.
I got to thinking that in many ways this movie is a modern day fairy-tale of self-improvement and, even, that my Buddhist friends would love some of the ‘lessons’ he learns which finally break him from his perpetual cycle of groundhog days.
The movie shows Phil begin to shift his experience by looking for change within first and then directing his knowledge about the day and events to befriend and help others. He gains satisfaction from ditching his obsession with his own desires and wants and factoring the needs of others into his world. (All attributes according to research, of being ‘happy’). Once he completes this transition February 3rd can come and he can move on in the new world he has chosen for himself by changing his thinking and focus of his action.
The first thing is, of course, to recognise that we probably all have had times in our life when it has felt like Groundhog Day. The same events play out and we do the same things and get the same results. We realise that we have become stuck.
So, what are your personal behaviours and thoughts that are creating your recurring negative experiences? How can you break out of them?
- Begin by noticing when, where and with whom you are in a loop
- Stop putting the responsibility with others and look for what you can do differently
- Identify ways of thinking that would support you better and experiment with behaviours – it may take a few ‘run throughs’ to get the best blend for you and your world
- Look for opportunities to show support, encouragement and compassion to others – not just random acts of kindness but recognition that as others grow and succeed so do you.
If you haven’t watched the movie please do – you can see how he gets what he wants including the girl when he stops fighting the world and accepts responsibility for his own learning and implements what he learns to benefit himself and others.
Have a great Groundhog Day but I hope for you it is only once a year!
