Last week on my business blog I wrote a post called There’s Always A Chance To Start Again. The basic premise of that post was to say that no matter how many bad things happen in one’s life, you always have another chance to put it right, to start anew, and strive for better things. But I wondered a few days ago as to why one needs to wait until bad things are happening to start again.
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I’ve never seen the movie Groundhog Day, but I know the premise. Basically the main character keeps reliving the same day over and over, Groundhog Day. Once he recognizes it he starts trying out all sorts of things, some crazy, some just plain stupid, but he doesn’t worry about it because he knows that when he wakes up again it will be Groundhog Day all over. Eventually he figures out that he needs to get on the straight and narrow and starts working his way towards things that will have a more positive effect on his life, even if it’s the same day all the time, because though no one else notices it, he starts growing within himself.
Life can be a lot like that if most of us give it a chance. I look at my life, for instance, and see how I’ve transformed myself many times over, and how I work on learning more and more because I know that every day really isn’t the same day, even if many other people live like it is. I see so many things as “today’s adventure” and I try to chronicle those things. Sometimes I end up writing about them, while other times I just let it roll around in my head to see if there was a lesson in there somewhere.
Where have I gone? I used to write music and now I write blogs and other items of nonfiction. I used to only read biographies, autobiographies, history and books on science and suddenly I’ve discovered the world of fiction, detective stories, Harry Potter, science fiction. I’ve been in health care for over 25 years, yet these days I’m as apt to work on social media and, of course, blogging.
I often wonder what the heck I’ll be doing 4 or 5 years from now that’ll be any different than what I’m doing now. I hope I’ve progressed in some fashion, but at least I know there will be something new going on.
Lately I’ve written about how blogging isn’t easy and how social media is a process. I needed to add something to the mix; actually, two somethings. One, as long as you can find a way to have fun with it, instead of making it a chore, it doesn’t matter if it’s hard or easy. You’ll at least love what you’re doing. And two, if you know what it is you hope to eventually be doing, then the process of getting there isn’t so bad at all because as you push forward you’ll start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Or in this case the shadow that the light creates, because we all know that Punxsutawney Phil is seeing that shadow today, and we’re having six more weeks of winter. Where I live, that actually means we’ll have a spring, since our winters have a nasty habit of lasting into April, sometimes into May. Talk about your extended Groundhog Days! 😉
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That’s how I try to look at most things, Allan, but sometimes you’re just not sure.
Allan, if Phil lived in central New York he’d know better than to show his face. lol
I would like having the ability to loop a day. I could learn so many new things (just like in fairy tales, I could learn in one day what other have learned in years) and I could relax whenever I wouldn’t feel like doing something and knowing it won’t affect my job or business.
Of course an other ability of continuing the normal timeline would be really useful, unless of course I don’t want to become a genius and never use my knowledge, or every results of it would only exist for one day.
That’s true, Alex; if you didn’t have the ability o get out of it on your own then it might not be so much fun. Still, even with time consistently moving we can create our own days like that.
What?! How can you have never seen Groundhog’s Day? Great movie. I guess you don’t really need to see it though since it sounds like you know enough about it, haha.
I feel that it’s really important to keep reinventing yourself and to push your boundaries to get the most out of life. There is so much in life to enjoy, and it is a shame when people don’t live life to the fullest.
Keith, in general I don’t live my life to the fullest. There are parts I do, such as trying to learn new things, but parts I’m just not going to do it, such as with weird foods. lol
I doubt Phil lives in Chicago, either. He wouldn’t be seeing anything here today. My interests grow all the time, too. I think when we’re younger we tend to jump to “oh, I don’t like that” and then just steer clear of things. A little life wisdom makes you more apt to give different things a try and from there, new interests and undiscovered talents kind of explode. I’m still closed minded about cooking, though 😉 just don’t like it!
Jessica, I don’t like cooking these days because of the time it takes to do it, not necessarily because I don’t like how I cook. And that’s a shame; I need to give myself permission to “waste” time, if that’s how I see it.
I’m like you Mitch, I have transformed myself many times over. I hope I have progressed as well too. I’m surprised you haven’t seen Groundhog Day because it’s a great movie that I consider a classic.
I think continuing to transform yourself is important if you wish to get the most out of your life. Thanks for sharing your insights on this topic Mitch.
You know John, I see movies that grab my interest up front, and if that doesn’t happen then I rarely get back to them. If I could watch the movie on TV and not have to deal with commercials, then maybe I’d sit down to watch it. But I hate commercials a lot during movies.
As to the other, yes, even when things are going well, we have to be ready to keep transforming for even better things.
Hi Mitch, I think all people in internet business are asking this questions. This is just the nature of how it goes. There are so many opportunities and if something does not succeed, on the next day, new idea arise.
Carl, it doesn’t only have to pertain to internet stuff. It can pertain to almost anything in life.
That’s a great Bill Murray movie. Whenever i’ve taken a decision i usually ask myself what would have happened if I would chosen another path. I have to admit, that sometimes i wish i could do something all over again. But, i suppose this means experience, to learn from your mistakes.
Exactly Mia. Thing is, you take the lesson you learn & apply it to your next attempt at something and you then find it’s better.
I agree with you on that, Mitch. I have taken myself from being an employee to being a small business owner over the years and I can say I have made a number of mistakes. But, because I learned something from these mistakes, I can still say that they have been worth their while. The best thing in life is that we try.
– Wes –
Great stuff, Wes. Yes, it’s important to try, try, and try again because that’s how we progress. And we just might hit our ultimate goal along the way.
Hi Mitch! I love the post here! And Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow!! I am happy about that because, well…it’s cold! I have seen Groundhogs Day many times, and it never gets old. He really does do some crazy things!
Making mistakes in life is a learning process. My mom always said it isn’t a mistake unless you didn’t learn anything. And her birthday is Groundhogs Day! : D
Great stuff Jasmine; your mother was a wise woman. You’ll have to ask your mother if she saw her shadow, but blame it on a boy friend or husband. lol Maybe one of these days I’ll watch that movie, since I know enough about it at this point.