Continuing on with our series from Live Large, we explore how we can define our goals using the Wheel of Life.
We also review how we can recalibrate our good intentions and pursue and accomplish our goals.
Monthly Archives: November 2012
Lessons from a Hole in the Sidewalk
While on a coaching call recently one of my friends mentioned he was having a hard time making a change and that he seemed to be going around in circles. I asked, “Do you want to make a shift or do you just want to use me as a ‘stand’ to complain and whine but keep going on without any changes?” My question got to him, I think.
It reminded of that famous line,
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein
Are you doing the same things, the same way, over and over again and expecting different results?
One of my mentor coaches mentioned this poem, “There’s A Hole In My Sidewalk,” by Portia Nelson to me that addresses this very issue. The poem creates an analogy between life and a journey down a sidewalk. This story made me think about the choices we make in life. How many times do we keep making choices that only lead us into the same “hole in the sidewalk?
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
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.
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 can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
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 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 … it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
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.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
~ Portia Nelson ~
(There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk)
Luciano Del Monte 