I came across this poem, “Autobiography in 5 Chapters” by Portia Nelson and the profoundness of it resonated so much with me, I read it over and over again. Then, I continued to ponder on it in my journal.

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.

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 can’t believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

Habits

I reflected on the holes that I keep falling into. I became aware of the holes in my thinking that create the holes in my business-and-life sidewalk.