It's Groundhog Day...again

Groundhog Day officially falls on February 2 each year, which of course was just this week. If for some reason you have never seen the classic movie of the same name, please go watch it this weekend! (You’ll find it on Netflix and elsewhere.) The Netflix description states: “Sent to cover the annual ritual of groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, a self-centered TV weatherman [Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray] mysteriously begins living the same day again and again.” During this past year, many of us have likely been feeling as though Groundhog Day is every day and we have been reliving the same day again and again. And again.

Hopefully without giving too much away about the movie plot, a great reflection question for all of us is:

Am I living my ‘Groundhog Day’ like Phil at the start of the movie or at the end of the movie? Which version do I want to be living?

This isn’t to imply at all that we need to be spending all of our time with an intense focus on productivity and self-improvement. We also need down time as well as permission to feel thoroughly unhappy with the frustrations and losses of the past year. But what potentially opens up when we view our days as something we can intentionally create? When we perhaps even reframe our own ‘Groundhog Day’ as something to be celebrated and looked forward to with anticipation? 

So an additional reflection question:

How can I create a ‘Groundhog Day’ that I want to live over and over? What elements need to go into my day (and not go into my day) so that I can feel excited that I get to experience them again and again?

We hope that the exercise in this month's Playful Practice might also help create some prompts to support you in doing this.