Your Life Is Five Chapters

Psychological change doesn't happen overnight. But we wouldn't want it to because we'd miss the learning in it all.

It's fair to say that the path to my own psychological growth has been a rocky one. I've failed more times than I can count, I've not kept my word to myself thousands of times and I've engaged in behaviors I wanted to stop and then hate myself over and over and over again.

Your story doesn't just have one chapter, it has five. Keep reading. Don't put the book down yet. It gets so much better!!

Here's the poem written by Portia Nelson that I share with you in the episode.

An Autobiography in Five 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.

Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the side walk.
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 fall in….it’s 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 a different street.