- Day 1
- 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.
- Day 2
- 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.
- Day 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.
- Day 4
- I walk down the same street.
- There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
- I walk around it.
- Day 5
- I walk down another street.
- — Portia Nelson
- So much of our lives feels akin to playing a giant, cosmic “Groundhog Day” video game.
- Where do you get slayed, flayed or played into making the same fatal mistake – each and every time you put your quarter in, and spin?
- I know that much of my own life is ruled by this strange habit of automaticity and self sabotage – this odd attraction of finding the gaping holes – the weird, wobbly, wonky soft spots on the road -feeling their magnetic pull, and with both feet betraying my better directional intuitions- tripping, slipping and falling in.
- (only to have to dig another quarter out and spin again
- Setting a mindfulness alarm, for me, is like the ultimate superpower.
- It requires that I ask myself – “what are my feet doing?” – and it reminds me, in every moment, I am in control of my character – I know where i’m heading – and I can always choose anew.
- I know many of you reading this are following us for entrepreneurial ideas – and I can think of no better advice – for avoiding the “doom loop” – the dubious distractions – the bright and shiny objects that never are quite as bright or shiny up close – than asking yourself something similar – to stay ever vigilant – and always on course.
- To me? This is the META rule that rules all other rules.
- But ultimately – it’s really about paying full attention to the character of our lives.
- What are my feet doing?
- What is my heart doing?
- Am I awake and in control?
- Or am I just sleep walking through busy, hazy days that will invariably conspire to lead me, and bury me back in the bottom of the same ditch I tripped, slipped and fell in last week?
- The bane of the doom loop – the thing that makes it so depressing and frustrating and aggravating, paradoxically, is also it’s liberating virtue.
- You always get to choose anew.
- No matter how many times you’ve found yourself on the wrong end of a deep ditch looking up and wondering how you got there, today, you’re feet are back on a firm foundation.
- The path ahead is dimly lit – but NOW, you know where the potholes and road blocks are.
- So pay attention on the path. Walk confidently, but carefully.
- And keep a pocket full of quarters. Just in case you want to spin again.
