Mar 9 • 💭 Mindset & 🙏 Gratitude
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
I hope you are having a beautiful, sunny Sunday like I am here in Thunder Bay.
In our last study session, read Autobiography in Five Short Chapters, and everyone loved it so much that they asked for it to be shared. Please see it below:
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
By Portia Nelson (with an evolved reflection on self-compassion)
This passage, first published in Portia Nelson’s 1977 book, There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery, has become a cornerstone in personal development, recovery work, and transformational coaching. It offers a poetic map of human growth — from unconscious patterns to self-awareness, from self-blame to personal responsibility, and ultimately, to freedom of choice.
Over time, teachers, healers, and guides have expanded the meaning of this piece, adding a valuable insight — a ‘Chapter 3.5’ — where we learn to release blame entirely, not just for others but also for ourselves. We recognize that the hole is neither good nor bad; it is simply a place we visit. And from that place of neutrality, we discover that the path forward is no longer about avoiding the hole at all costs — it is about knowing we are always free to enter, leave, or walk away.
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost.
I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I’m 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’s a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in — it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my own fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 3.5 — The Insight
I walk down the same street.
There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it.
I fall in, but this time something is different.
There is no blame — not for me, not for anyone.
The hole is just a place.
It is not good or bad.
I am okay even though I fell.
I can stay for a moment, if I choose.
Or I can leave.
The hole is no longer frightening — just familiar.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down a different street.
5
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Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
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