Are You Trapped In Groundhog Day?
Feb

Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again. Time to get up and start your ever familiar daily routine. For many of us, our days consist of basically the same things over and over. Depressing….
If you haven’t seen the movie Groundhog Day, you’re missing out on a true classic. The basic premise is that Bill Murray’s character is reliving the exact same day, Groundhog Day, over and over and there is nothing he can do to change it.
There is nothing he can do to change the fact that he has to wake up in the same place, see the same people, go through the same series of events, and is powerless to stop it all.
I think you all know where I’m going with this.
Are You Living in Groundhog Day?
How many of us go through the same routine day after day, month after month, year after year? Our lives begin to blend together in a swirl of computer screens, scotch tape, and phone calls.
The scary thing is that most of us will never even think about if it’s a good routine? A routine can be fun or interesting, but often times we end up on auto-pilot and just go through the motions of daily life.
Life can and should be about excitement, joy, passion, and happiness. Being stuck in a mindless routine doesn’t allow us to experience any of these things. We just become drones and that isn’t good for anyone.
So, I want you to ask yourself these questions:
- Are you happy with your life right now?
- Are you spending your time how you choose?
- Are you just trying to get through each day?
- Are you just eeking out an existence?
If you answered yes to any of these, why? Why are you doing this to yourself and to your family. You are doing a terrible disservice to those who care about you. Nobody wants to see you unhappy all the time, just trying to survive.
It’s like you’re wasting your life and it’s so sad. In the movie, Bill Murray cannot take the repetitiveness anymore and tries to kill himself. Most of us will never consider something that extreme, but it can often feel like we are on our way to an early grave….
Move On With Your Life
If you’re living the same ol’ same ol’ every day, it needs to stop right now. I hate when people give me that answer when I ask them what’s new. To me, those people have no real passion and are just passing time until they die.
Take a hard look at your life and figure out if it’s working for you or against you. Being stuck in the daily grind of life and reliving the same boring day is definitely NOT working.
To get past your Groundhog Day, you need to do a few things:
- Recognize that you are stuck (wake up, commute there, hate job all day, commute home, sleep)
- Make the choice to change it for the better (i.e. add adventure, be spontaneous, change job)
- Figure out how you are going to do it (join a social group, get out of your comfort zone)
- Take action (get off your tired ass and do something about it)
If you are ever going to change your routine (that is not working for you), you MUST find a way to shake it up.
Here are 2 examples of routines, both of which are boring and have very little going for them.
Routine 1:
- Wake up same time every day
- Eat same exact breakfast every day
- Spend 1 hour exercising.
- Drive to work and park in same parking spot every day
- Sit at desk. Work on various projects and check emails
- Eat lunch at desk. Same food every day
- Work until 5 and drive straight home
- Order dinner, watch TV, in bed early
Routine 2:
- Get woken up by small child tapping on head
- Eat something for breakfast, quite possible a pop tart
- Shower, get dressed, drop off small child at bus stop
- Commute to work hoping to drive through the Bermuda Triangle and ending up in Hawaii
- Grumble at the long, boring day that lies ahead
- Work long, boring day. Eat lunch at some point
- Drive home in foul mood reeking of printer toner
- Eat dinner while listening to 2 small children yelling
- Clean up a metric ton of mac and cheese, hot dog bits, and noodles off the floor
- Play with children, bathe them, put them to bed
- Head for computer to work on blog until eyes cannot stay open any longer
Now, both of these routines seem far from exciting and in fact, they are both boring as shit.
The main difference is that one routine is making someone happy and the other is making someone miserable. I think you all can guess which mine is…..
The other routine belongs to someone close to me and they are very content with it. I say good for them. If it works, the great. If not, change it.
So today, Groundhog Day, is your day to break free from your rut of a life and make great things happen.

Bradley
I answered yes to a couple of those. I am happy with my private life (just wish I had more time to spend with my wife and family), but not happy with working life.
I have to say that both the daily routines you listed seemed pretty shitty to me. I am ready for a little excitement in my life. To wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on anything.
I am actively working on some changes, but they take a lot of time to implement. At least implement to the point that I can pay the bills in some other form than I am right now.
Steve
Bradley,
Thanks for the comment. What are you unhappy with? It looks like you own your own web design company.
Both of the routines are shitty and one of them is mine! Believe me, it sucks but I am working hard on changing all that.
What are you going to do differently to inject some excitement into your life?
BTW, it looks like you’ve given up on posting to your blog. That’s too bad, it looks like you have some interesting things to say.
Bradley
That is my startup company. I am still holding down a day job too. The day job is what I dread each day. Lately it hasn’t left a lot of time for outside projects.
I haven’t given up posting on my blog. I got married near the end of last year, and mainly have been too busy with married life and work to post in a while. I am in the process of a web site redesign, and working on new posts.
Currently, I am in the process of going back to school to get a degree in graphic design. I am hoping to start at the summer semester, but we are facing a lot of out of town work this summer at my day job. So the start date is a little in question. I am also putting out feelers with some people I know in the graphics industry to see who (if anyone) is willing to take on a very green, but very enthusiastic, new hire. If I can find something that will pay the bills, I really would like to leave my current job behind.
I have been reading some of your posts. Nice stuff in general, and really captures a lot of the feelings I have been having for a while about my day job. Keep up the good work.
Steve
I see, the dreaded day job….
Congratulations on getting married. Glad to hear you will be starting back up with the blog soon.
Good luck on your schooling and I hope you can find a job doing what you love. How important is the location of a potential job? I son’t know anything about your business, so I’m wondering if you could potentially take a job elsewhere in the country and still live where you are now.
Bradley
We are pretty tied to the area we live in. Both our families are close by, and we don’t really want to give that up. Plus my wife has a job she loves and pays well and has good benefits.
I can’t really ask her to give that up.
I wouldn’t mind telecommuting (or whatever you call it these days). I know a lady who lives her in town but works for a company in CA. She has to travel there a couple of times a year, but mainly she is in town working out of her house. I would do something like that in a heartbeat!
Steve
Bradley,
I bet you wouldn’t mind going to sunny Cali once in a while…me neither 🙂
I was wondering if telecommuting was possible for someone in your field. Of course that would open up a lot more possibilities for you. Keep me posted though, I am interested in hearing about your search…
Jill - Jack and Jill Travel The World
There’s a quote I heard awhile back that resonated with me “Most people would rather be miserable for certain than risk being happy”. I told myself back then that I’d take the risk anytime… and whenever we’re having doubt about our RTW plan, I try remember what I promised myself back then — take the risk 🙂
Steve
Jill,
That quote is so depressing to me mainly becasue it’s true. Your story is inspiring and I am really looking forward to following your journey.
Harriet`
Sometimes at uni it does seem like I’m stuck in groundhog day, well more like a groundhog week! Every week is the same, same rehearsals, same lecturers. Thankfully this semester is looking to be a better on, the turn around in concerts is really fast so I shouldn’t get into a routine too quickly!
Steve
Harriet,
Join the club! I feel like I’m stuck in groundhog decade…..
At least things are looking up for you….that’s always a good thing.
Harriet`
I hope things start looking up for you too Steve!
Steve
Harriet,
Thanks so much, I appreciate that.
Chris C. Ducker
Hi Steve
Just come across your site for the first time. Nice work, bud.
Love the flow of this post, too. Loved the movie, so the title worked for me to click!!!
Good luck with the on-going mission, and please reach out if you need any advice, etc.
Keep rockin’.
Chris
Steve
Hey Chris,
I really appreciate that. I have seen you all over the place and hear your name constantly in the IM circles. Thanks for taking the time to check out my site and I may very well take you up on your offer sometime soon!
This movie is a classic! If you are a Bill Murray fan, you have to see Kingpin if you haven’t already. Hilarious..
Chris C. Ducker
Anytime, Steve.
Kingpin. Awesome… And you need to see ‘Stripes’ from the 80’s if you havent. A lot of people havent seen that movie… Murray and John Candy in a movie together…. priceless.
Leah | Smart Goals for 20-somethings
Hey Steve- another great post. Like Harriet I suffer from groundhog week. I only seem to remember Sunday night and Friday morning. Everything else is a blur.
If you haven’t so already- you need to write a post about how to make your partner supportive with your blogging career when you already have a full-time job.
Steve
Hi Leah,
I wish I could write that post, but my wife is NOT supportive. It’s hard for people who have zero understanding about what it takes to make money online or to build a successful blog.
I’ve come to realize that there is ONLY one way to get her support: SHOW ME THE MONEY!! Making money online is the only way to get her on board. The problem is that I haven’t started monetizing it yet…
Actually, I just had a great idea (oh wait, it was your idea), I will write a post about overcoming the challenges of dealing with a spouse that just doesn’t get it. Thanks!
Leah | Smart Goals for 20-somethings
I think you’re going to blow her away when you do! But you have the right idea about not monetizing just yet- you’re focusing on content and building relationships. 🙂
Steve
Leah,
Thanks for your confidence! It would be great if I never had to monetize the blog, but if I am going to turn this into a business, I suppose it’s inevitable…
William Tha Great
Hey Steve,
Thanks for e fantastic article!
You really out did yourself with this one and great point on top of it! This is my first time around your blog and I must say I like what I see. You have an awesome layout great job on that.
People should really take some time and look at their daily routines and figure out if it’s productive from it. Before you look at is you should ask yourself if you are happy with it. I love to go shopping, it would be cool if everyday I could go shopping before I go to work! I would be in an awesome mood to write. That’s just me though.
Thanks again!
God bless,
William Veasley
Steve
William,
Another guy with a shopping problem, I love it! I, unlike most if not all of my male friends, love to shop. The problem is that I don’t have the $ to shop.
I think it’s a sickness of sorts, but that’s another topic…
Thanks for reading, hope you will be back!