Do you have a movie (or movies) that you’ve seen more times than you can count but you STILL will watch them if you stumble upon them? I do that with all of the movies in the Bourne series, the Mission Impossible movies, and yes, the Jurassic Park franchise too. But there’s another one that I’ll watch every time and get something new from on each occasion.
Groundhog Day. Bill Murray (1993).
I’m not worried about spoilers, I mean, you’ve had thirty years to see it by now. I love this movie for something I recently read an article about. Harold Ramis and Danny Rubin, the creators of the story and film had just set out to make a fun, enjoyable movie. But after its release, they were surprised by the outpouring of unexpected fans: theologians, rabbis, philosophers, professors. People who think about life’s meaning on the daily.
They all shared their joy in watching Phil Connors (Murray) and his journey of personal discovery. They watched as he struggled to find meaning as he was stuck in a time loop, waking up every morning to the alarm clock’s “I Got You Babe” and reliving the same day over and over again.
In his search for purpose, he tried to find it in sensory ways (he ate all the donuts), in acts of absurdity (he kidnapped the other Phil, the groundhog from Puxatawney), and in being selfish and manipulative with those around him.
Eventually, Phil begins to find his answers when he shifts his thoughts away from himself and on others. He begins simply by picking up coffee and pastries for the others in his news crew (Rita and Larry, played by Andie McDowell and Chris Elliott) and eventually uses his knowledge of events-to-come to be a nearly-nonstop servant to others. (changing flat tires, administering the Heimlich to Mayor Buster (played by his real-life brother, Brian Doyle Murray), even getting Wrestle-Mania tickets as a gift for an appreciative newlywed couple).
Phil’s hard-learned humility, combined with his efforts to learn new things (fluent French, the piano, and ice sculpting to name a few) turned a narcissistic character into the most respected guy in town.
“Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” C.S. Lewis
Want to be a good leader? Each day, clear your head. Purify your heart. Seek to serve others. Use that heart to influence others to do the same. Build a sustainable culture that takes care of others well after you’re no longer the principal.
You still have to make tough decision and do lots of work in many ways, but a humble heart is attractive, especially in schools where humility is revered and arrogance is one of the worst vices of all. And humility? It’s a trait of winners. Don’t confuse kindness with meekness or caring for others as weakness. Humility requires strength. It’s a garment that wears well on any of us as we seek to lead others, as we search to find our way to a purposeful life.
The sooner we embrace true humility, the longer we get to our lives in the sunlight of service. In Groundhog Day, the film’s makers came to agree with writers who estimated that Phil Connors relived that day around 12,395 times, which is roughly 34 years. How many times have you relived days, even without being stuck in a time loop? What are you learning from your experiences? As the leader, where do your default thoughts take you? To yourself or to others?
Groundhog Day has always made me reflect on so many wasted days when I spent my precious gifts (time and energy) on things that ultimately didn’t amount to much. In those days, I didn’t get it right; for any number of reasons I thought too much of myself and what I wanted and I missed opportunities.
The fondest days are those in which I actually did get it right, the days that I cast my thoughts on others and what they might want or need, which might be what humility is all about.
Be humble, or be humbled!
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