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Shut up!  You don't expect me to believe that I can learn life lessons from a movie like "Groundhog Day"!!  Um...well...yeah, I do.  :-O

The film "Groundhog Day" stars Bill Murray and is about a Pittsburgh weatherman that lives the same day over and over again.  If you have not seen the movie yet, I want to warn you that this page contains "spoilers" about how the film ends.  

This film has been out for a long time, so if you haven't seen it yet, you can hardly blame me for ruining it for you...go see it already!!  :-)

Phil Connors is sent to cover Groundhog Day with his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell)  

In the beginning of the film, Phil is not a nice person.  He is "ego" centered,  sarcastic and a little mean (you know the type--a butt head).  He hates the fact that he was sent out to "the sticks" to shoot this dumb little piece.  He wants nothing more than to do the job, and hit the road.  

Turns out that the weather turns bad and Phil and his team are snowed in, so they have to spend the night, which sets the stage for the rest of the film.  The next day when he wakes up and it's Groundhog Day...again...and again...and again.

The movie leaves it up to the viewer to decide just how long Phil is stuck on Groundhog Day...but we know it is long enough to work through several stages of consciousness.

Throughout the movie, Phil goes through many different ways to react to the fact that his actions in this town, on this day...have no consequences.

Stage 1:  Denial

He wakes up and the day is the same as yesterday.  He more or less just does the day over again trying to deny that it is happening.  There are some funny parts during this stage, but it mostly setup for all the different events during the day.  

He treats people throughout the day much the same as he does everyday, he either ignores them or throws them a false platitude.  

Stage 2:  Depression

In stage 2, Phil decides he has had enough and he decides to kill himself...repeatedly.  It doesn't matter what he tries, he always wakes up at 6:00 am to "I got you Babe" by Sonny and Cher.  These scenes are sad, and a little funny, with all the different ways he goes about trying to off himself.

Stage 3:  Hedonism

In stage 3, Phil takes advantage of his knowledge of the days events.  He steals money, it's easy, he has the whole day timed out.  He seduces women, by using his knowledge of them and being the "perfect" guy.

Phil goes out and gets drunk and gets arrested for drunk driving...who cares...No one!  He wakes up and the day has reset again.

In this stage, Phil is actively looking to manipulate people for his own benefit. You don't really see his whole day (which is a good thing, really, it would be a very tedious movie if they just kept playing it over and over again).

The parts of his day that you do see will be one day, he sees a pretty woman, and finds out a piece of information about her.  The next day, he will use that information to change something about himself to make him more appealing to the woman.

...This works pretty well on at least one woman, you are left to assume he may have used this method on several women...or not...its up to you.

Stage 4:  Hope of escape 

Phil decides he would like to get to know Rita, and maybe he loves Rita.  He uses the stage 3 method to try to seduce her, but it doesn't work.  He loves her, and is not comfortable deceiving her...even though he knows she will forget everything in the morning.  

He confides in her that his day is repeating and he can't get out of groundhog day, and she suggests that he make himself a better person.  Rita helps Phil realize that there might be hope...which, of course, leads to Stage 5.

Stage 5:  Acceptance and Self Improvement

Phil begins to use his knowledge of Groundhog Day to help people.  He knows just where to be to catch the kid falling out of the tree.  He knows when the man in the restaurant is going to choke on his dinner so he can be there to save him.

He is able to save everyone except for the tired homeless man...it seems that Ground Day is his day to die.

We return to the morning of the Groundhog Day and Phil is now a new man:

1)  He warmly greets everyone he meets with genuine love and concern.

2)  He actively tries to serve and love everyone in this little town.

3)  Instead of rushing through the piece about Groundhog Day...he presents a heart-filled piece, and brings the locals and his crew to tears with his passion for the piece and the day.  

Phil also has taken the time and interest to memorize the life stories of everyone in town.

He learns how to play the piano and many other skills.

He becomes a beloved member of town...all in one day (from the towns' perspective).

At this point, Rita and Phil fall in love and time starts again.

Personal Insights

It is interesting to note, that Groundhog Day's message sneaks up on you.  It is there, but not in your face or preachy.  Life is like these five stages, even though there are seemingly consequences in real life, I do wake up everyday with a new opportunity to make choices about what do to with my time.

This film provokes me to ask myself some questions:

What stage am I in?

I move between stages, I try to start each day in Stage 5 (acceptance and self improvement).  Some time before lunch, I have slip into stage 3...I just want to eat and take care of myself.

I guess, after lunch, while still in work mode, I spend most of my time in stage 3...thinking and doing for me.  

I do my best to read something "inspirational" at some point during my work day...which would allow me to shift into a quiet moment of hope...then I go back to work and its back to stage 3.

When I get home in the evening, it's more stage three...dinner, rest, visit with my wife, watch some DVDs maybe read...

...right before bed, I mediate and remind myself about stages 4 and 5.  

How do I treat the people I meet everyday?

I am a very upbeat person with people that I know.  I do a decent job of bringing positive energy their way.  I am still choosy about the people that I like and that I don't like...so there is work to be done.

Am I serving the people in my life?

I feel that I serve the people that I work with.  I am mostly motivated to serve them because I wish to keep my job...at the same time, I really enjoy using my knowledge and skills to help people with whatever they need...even if it might not be officially "my job".  

Do I do the things I love?

I am learning how to build an online business (web skills and writing) and I enjoy writing and I feel it will improve my ability to be happy a greater amount of time.

When I am happy it is easier for me to help and serve others, so, while I am helping myself, the goal is to make myself better for others...and to move on to a different (hopefully better) tomorrow.