This is one of my favourite poems about life, it’s titled “There’s a Hole in my Sidewalk“, by Portia Nelson
Chapter 1.
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…
I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.Chapter 2.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I cant believe I am in this same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.Chapter 3.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in… its a habit.
But, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.Chapter 4.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.Chapter 5.
I walk down another street.
This is a great analogy, which for me, describes the process of change the we all experience as we journey through life……… let’s take a closer look…..
Chapter 1 is where we initially find ourselves, we have a identified that we need to change, “I fall in. I am lost…” but have not taken responsibility for, “It isn’t my fault“. This is the first step in the process of change is to recognise that we have a problem.
In Chapter 2, we fall in the hole, we cannot believe that we’ve fallen in the same hole one more time! We still haven’t taken full responsibility for changing, “it isn’t my fault.” and “It still takes a long time to get out.” Why do I keep falling in this hole? Who’s doing this to me? If other people would just do things in the right way my life would be much easier.
In Chapter 3, we finally realise that we’re part of the problem and decide to take personal responsibility for our situation, “It is my fault. ” and “I get out immediately.“. We realise that we did something, or failed to do something, which has caused us to land in the same hole again. We recognise the pattern and begin to ask questions such as, “what am I thinking and doing that causes me to land in this hole?” Instead of looking for ways to change others we begin to look for ways to change ourselves. We finally accept personal responsibility for falling in the hole!
In Chapter 4 we begin to change our thinking and behaviour and soon we’re have new and different experiences. You have gained a bigger perspective and a deeper understanding of yourself.
In Chapter 5 we have grown and matured, we’ve moved on, we’re waling down new and more interesting streets…!
Technorati Tags: Habit, Change, Psychology, Personal Development, Poetry
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Excellent poem. Thank you for sharing this
Great post – thank you.
It’s so interesting to break down the process of making changes. One step (and misstep) at a time.
Can a person make a change deliberately? What does it take to get ‘ready’ to make a change?
Nice post.
This is a lovely little poem and speaks to us on so many levels.
As one who has spent most of his life attempting to climb out of holes of all shapes and sizes I can also tell you this:
Hidden deep in the bottom of every hole there is a gift waiting for us to claim it as our own. The only problem is we’re usually so anxious to get climb out that we rarely take the time to see what’s down there.
As Shakespeare one said, “There is nothing neither good nor bad. But thinking makes it so”. It’s taken me the longest time to learn this.
Thank you for this post George.
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