simply better ways to negotiate and resolve conflict

Behavior change and the holes in your sidewalk

9 March 2008

Autobiography in Five Chapters
by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.
There is 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.

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.

Source: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
Tammy
Conflict Zen® by Tammy Lenski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at ConfictZen.Lenski.com.

About the author: Dr. Tammy Lenski helps individuals and organizations use simply better ways to dramatically shift negotiations and conflict. © 1997-2012 Tammy Lenski. All rights reserved. Read more posts in this category: Conflict resolution stories

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