Five 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'm 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.

- Portia Nelson

NEW PERSPECTIVES HOLD THE KEYS to our growth and freedom. Choosing to harness our brain's neuroplasticity and rewire out conditioned responses and perspectives toward flexibility and resilience means we get to walk down another street. We don't have to, but we can choose to. Now we have the neural capacity to perceive options where we saw none before, discern which options might be most productive, and choose wisely among them what course of action to take.