I was absently scanning background noises on my tv while I sat with my phone in my hand the other day after work. A lot of us do this auto- stimulating where we pick a movie or tv show to play in corner of our mind while we scroll on our devices. Stereo dopamine as I call it. It’s a looping behavior I’m well aware of. I don’t watch movies like I used to for some reason they don’t the anchor my attention. I’m not an anti TV guy I just powered through four seasons of Fargo, it’s a solid show but movies don’t grab my balls anymore (sorry kitchen language). It comes and goes it may be another year before I watch another tv series.

I came across a quick blip for Groundhog’s Day with Bill Murray while scanning. I had always enjoyed that movie I’ve probably seen it around a half dozen times and then another few more playing background dialogue while I shop for camping gear or troll social media on my phone. It’s been a good while since I last watched it probably a decade or so.

Groundhog’s Day, if you’re one of the 200 people who don’t know what the movie is about, follows Phill Connor, a rather cynical TV weatherman who gets snowed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and is forced to relive February 2nd over and over again. It’s a comedy. If you haven’t seen the movie you wont understand much of this.

Groundhog’s Day could also be used as a metaphor to represent our lives.

I hear a lot of us commenting about most days seem to feel like a lot like that movie. We feel stuck in a timeline that tends to repeat itself over and over. So I’m going to try to tie this together somewhat metaphorically

Ok

Phil Connor- he’s trapped in a pattern. Just like we are. For the first part of the movie he’s living in default mode.

Unconscious looping patterns for Phil

Ego

Cynicism

Impulse

He’s reacting instead of having awareness.

His day resets every morning at 6am. Every morning his alarm sounds off with “I got you babe”by Sonny and Cher.

Time isn’t what’s broken. Phil is. He wakes up, reads and walks the same internal script every day. Same morning routine, same breakfast, route to work, dialogue.

Does this sound familiar to you? It may be a different day but it’s the same structure underneath.

Same occurring thoughts, same emotional reactions, same decisions.

Am I getting warmer?

Phil starts to figure out something is whack. Obviously he’s realizing his own loops.

Awareness

So what does he do once he becomes aware of his situation? He begins to shake out of his daily routine. Not for the sake of feeling complete or balance but out of manipulation. Short cuts all through the movie to hack the outcome. Phil is represented as an asshat for most of the movie. His cynicism is clear. His lack of empathy and caring is obvious. Phil just isn’t a happy dude.

Phil is changing his daily actions but not his identity. So his loops continue without any progression.

The changes he goes through most of the movie are surface level. He forgets look inside of himself or overlooks it. His perception is purely environmental. Change a few actions here and there from his perspective environment and his day will reset back to normal.

Obviously this does not work out.

Once this sets in Phil begins his collapse into himself.

Exhaustion

Self-destruction

He realizes none of his actions are changing anything. It’s not failure it’s the system showing us the loops are internal.

And then

His consciousness begins to shift.

He gives up trying to escape. He becomes self aware of his behavioral patterns and starts changing how he exits within himself.

Learns a new skill (piano)

Helps people without reward

Pays attention becomes present.

He stops manipulating. He’s found alignment within himself.

He didn’t break the loops by recognizing them. He broke through by changing his reactions to them.

His intentions

He loosens his ego

His identity becomes a little more stabilized

Still the same old day, environment.

Phil changed his consciousness. His way of thinking. He rewired himself. Now that’s some shadow work.

The repetition cycle stops.

Phil wasn’t repeating the same exact calendar day over and over he was fighting with his loops. The loops aren’t time, they’re feedback.

Let’s move Phil out of the way.

Life continues to feed us the same pattern day after day. Our own little Groundhog Day.

Until we recognize that pattern for what it is we will continue on that path.

You stop reacting automatically. You choose differently without forcing it.

You’re not changing intellectually, you’re changing behaviorally

Consistently

Naturally

Flowwwinnnng

We repeat the same patterns over and over

Partner dynamics

Same work frustrations

Emotional triggers.

This thought always pops in our heads “why does this keep happening to me?”

Because we are stuck in Punxsutawney.

We try to manipulate our way through the day once we see realize it

And just like Phil showed us: you can’t brute force your way out. You can’t fake transformation and there are no shortcuts.

You have to become someone who doesn’t produce the same outcomes.

It’s tough. I’ve been on this road for over 5 years now. Breaking free from my own little Punxsutawney.

But

The goal isn’t to escape the day.

It’s to get to a point where even if the day repeated you wouldn’t need it to change.

You can pick and choose the repetitions and discard the rest.

You aren’t escaping your reality you’re breaking looping patterns. Phil didn’t break free from his everyday mundane life. He let go of the old Phil.

That’s the key.

Peace. ☮️