Change Self-Defeating Behaviors

Do you need to make changes in your life? Do you do the same things over and over again expecting different results? Do you shop too much, drink too much, gamble too much? Do you struggle with a food addiction, a drug addiction, a sex addiction? Do you find yourself in one destructive relationship after another? Do you have a habit that is negatively impacting your life? If so, you can change. Take a look at Portia Nelson’s poem about change. This poem is quite popular in the recovery community so some of you may have seen it before. It is something that can be read again and again.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson

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 fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place,

But isn’t my fault.

It still takes me a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the 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 street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

If there is a change you need to make, ask yourself, “Which chapter am I?”

Do I see the hole? Am I in it? Am I walking close to it? Am I flirting with it? Am I walking down another street?