Waking up after a year of Groundhog Days

I recently rewatched the 1993 film Groundhog Day. If you haven’t seen the film, you’ll certainly know the expression. A recap: it’s about a man trapped in a time loop, forced to relive the same day, February 2nd, over and over again.

Our 2020 experience shares some eerie similarities with the movie: travel restrictions, an obsession with predictions and every new day feeling like the last.

The film is billed as a fantasy comedy. ‘Fantasy’ and ‘comedy’ are certainly not the words I’d use to describe this year(!)

Waking up from Groundhog Day

The main character, Phil, (played by Bill Murray) asks in desperation: ‘"What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same?”

It’s a rhetorical question but I think it’s a very good question for us to try to answer.

We’re stuck in one place, every day feels the same. So the question is: what are we doing about it? How do we try to get out of it? Even with restrictions, there are ways for us to break the monotony.

I know that our plates are full. Full of home schooling, Zoom calls, managing teams remotely. Going with the flow is an attractive option in a demanding situation.

But we should be alert when going with the flow comes at your personal expense.

I had a one-to-one with someone who was experiencing this very thing.

She described getting up early as she likes to see the sunrise, having a coffee and beginning to work. At lunch she ‘ran’ to the kitchen for something on toast, then went back to her desk and worked until she realised that everyone else in her team logged off for the day.

She had just enough energy to run around the block at night and make dinner before falling asleep.

Now, for some people, this might sound alright. But it wasn’t the life that she wanted. In fact, she was quite shocked to realise that this had been her pattern for months.

During our one-to-one session, we talked about the importance of knowing how to design a life you want. Part of her realised that she had been busying herself to avoid thinking about the life she wanted because it seemed scary without support. i-coach has a track record of delivering world-class support.

You can read stories from the i-coach team about how they’ve used lockdown to do all kinds of brilliant things.

Experimentation, play and treating the curse as a blessing

In the movie, another character, Rita, encourages Phil to think of the loops as a blessing instead of a curse.

Phil decides to use his knowledge of the loops to change himself and others; he saves people from death, learns to play the piano, sculpt ice and speak French.

As you know, experimentation and play are core components of the i-coach approach. We have lots of great resources for you to embrace that part of yourself.

We also host events which are designed to challenge you and spark your curiosity from voice coaching to increasing your personal presence. Not only are these activities fun, they get us out of our comfort zone, teach us about how we like to learn and build vital skills.

The film came out in 1993, so I hope this isn’t a spoiler, but I want to close with a hopeful message.

When Phil finally decides to use Groundhog Day to try his hand at new skills and activities, he learns more about himself and when he wakes up in the final scene of the movie, it’s February 3rd.

What are you doing this Groundhog Day?

If you didn’t know, Groundhog Day in the movie is the 2nd February. On the 2nd February 2021, we’re holding our popular ‘Design the Life You Want’ webinar. It’s a great first step on the path to creating a unique, rewarding and fulfilling life, a life you love. I’d really like to meet you, hear more about the life you want and help you achieve it. Sign up today.