Writing a New Chapter

The book Failing Forward (author: John Maxwell) includes a piece by Portia Nelson entitled "Autobiography in Five Short Chapters."  I think it's a excellent description of how we can change to move from failure to success:

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 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.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.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.

Some of us are stuck in Chapters 1 or 2 - we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again and continue to wonder why we're stuck.  We have a tendency to blame others - our husband/boyfriend/ mother/girlfriend/boss made us eat off plan.  We blame circumstances - we were stressed/upset/bored/tired/it was our birthday-anniversary-Friday night.  We believe that if everyone in our lives would just get behind us and quit sabotaging us, we'd be successful.  When things settle down and we aren't so busy at work or so stressed with the kids, then it will be easier to stay on plan.

Change really begins when we move to Chapter 3.  We may have fallen back into the same old hole, but now we are ready to take responsibility and we don't stay in that hole.  Once we realize that we CAN take responsibility, more than that, that we HAVE to take responsibility for our choices, we are then able to take charge and change begins.

Chapter 4 marks the change, as we recognize the hole and are able to avoid it.  There is something very empowering about knowing that we really can avoid the very pit we've fallen into time and time again, and we avoid falling in by choosing to walk around it.  This is where many of us are right now.  The path we're on is familiar, but we're learning to not trip over the same old things and end up in the same old place.

Chapter 5 is hopefully where we're heading - on a new path all together.  As we learn healthy new habits, we find ourselves walking on a new path that will take us places we can't even imagine.  When we do that, we won't fall into the same old holes ever again.  Of course, this is only true if we choose to take a new path.  This program provides the tools we need to navigate a new path.  We just have to choose to use them, then choose to take a new path.

Which chapter represents where you are right now?  If you are stuck in one of the early chapters, are you ready to turn the page?  You can, and it will happen one day and one choice at a time.  Choose wisely :-)