“Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” is a poem by Portia Nelson that beautifully captures some of our expereinces of psychological change, growth and realisation. Summary by The World of Work Project
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
I
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 me forever to find a way out.
II
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.
III
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.
IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
Learning More
Personal growth and change, and any kind of behaviour change, is difficult. As humans we develop habits, ways of doing things, ways of being and a map of our behaviours in the world that is hard to deviate from.
To learn more, you might enjoy looking at Bridges’ change model, the behaviour change wheel and self awareness. One area that people struggle with at times is procrastination.
We find this poem helpful at times in relation to coaching as well, so you might enjoy learning more about that.
Lastly, we think that our podcast on psychological flexibility might also be of interest:
The World of Work Project View
We love this little poem and think it brings to life the trials we go through in our personal development in life, as well as the accountability and choices that often sit with us.
This poem is actually something we sometimes share with the people we work with. Though poerty isn’t for everyone, some people really connect with this poem. It can lead to some great moments of realisation and shifts in awareness, which can help individuals start to frame the changes they may need to make to lead to better outcomes for themselves and their teams.
To be honest, we also like this poem as a regular reminder to ourselves about the challenges and nuances of our own growth and development and change jouneys as well.
How We Help Organizations
We provide leadership development programmes and consulting services to clients around the world to help them become high performing organizations that are great places to work. We receive great feedback, build meaningful and lasting relationships and provide reduced cost services where price is a barrier.
Learning more about who we are and what we do it easy: To hear from us, please join our mailing list. To ask about how we can help you or your organization, please contact us. To explore topics we care about, listen to our podcast. To attend a free seminar, please check out our eventbrite page.
We’re also considering creating a community for people interested in improving the world of work. If you’d like to be part of it, please contact us.
Sources and Feedback
Nelson, Portia. “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.” There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery, Beyond Words Publishing, 1993
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