A number of years ago a film was released called Groundhog Day and starring Bill Murray. Set in Pennsylvania, Murray plays a professionally unfulfilled weatherman sent to follow the annual Groundhog Day festivities that have been celebrated since 1887.

The dictionary defines Groundhog Day as ‘a situation where a set of unwelcome or tedious events seem to be recurring in exactly the same way’.

Do you feel like you’re living the same day over and over again?

 The film is a comedy about a man who lives the same day over and over again. Every morning he wakes up to the same song on the radio and interacts with the same people in the same order in exactly the same way. It takes him a few days to figure out what is happening and each morning he awakes with hope for a new day. Inevitably he realises that he is stuck in a time loop and no matter what he does during the day, he wakes to repeat it again.

For a time he behaves erratically as he feels helpless to change the apparently endless cycle of repetitive events. However, eventually he takes a look at himself and decides that if he has to live the same day over and over again, he will live it well. He puts on a cheerful face and does what he can to help others. As he changes his thoughts about the day, his experience also changes. Eventually he learns what he needs to and he wakes to a new day.

Sometimes life can feel like Groundhog Day as we continue to create the events of our past in our current time. However, just like Bill Murray, the power to change your experience comes from you. If you are tired of living in a cycle of pain, rejection or anger, then you can do something about it. Your life is a direct result of the thoughts, words and actions you decide to take.

Freeing yourself from the pain of the past is as simple as changing your perception about it. Simple but not necessarily easy. It will take a concerted effort for the first little while but in time it can become an automatic part of how you think, speak and act. Master your thoughts and watch your world change. You will no longer relive Groundhog Day but will create new experiences filled with joy and freedom.

How would it feel to break the pattern?