Novelist Rose Tremain is quoted as saying, “Life is not a dress rehearsal.” Accordingly, there are no second rounds. We get one chance—one moment—and there is no looking back at what could have been. Sounds pretty depressing, doesn’t it? But what if you could go back with the knowledge of what went wrong and repeat the day or the event? That would be neat!

In that regard, each year at this time we are treated to one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day. It’s the story of egocentric weatherman, Phil Connors, played convincingly by Bill Murray. During a hated assignment in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, covering the annual Groundhog Day event, Connors finds himself repeating the same day over and over again. Background information on the movie indicates that his repeating the same day covers a 10-year period. After Connors indulges in tricking people with the knowledge he has amassed on their backgrounds and the events of the day, he begins to reexamine his life and his priorities. Ultimately, he uses the information to improve himself. I wonder what the outcome would be if we could go back and perform a do-over in some of life’s events like Phil Connors.

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