My favourite poem about life broken down into cartesian coordinates of the natural learning process
Hi family! @silverlining1 here again with my favourite poem that I believe sums up both the learning process of life but is also a great example of ascending spirals, like when you find yourself seemingly in the same situations over and over like a circle except ascending spirals take into account that it's not exactly the same because you take what you know with you each rotation thereby adding an additional plane of ascension
“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.
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 am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.
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.
walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
I walk down another street.”
― Portia Nelson, There's a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery
I would like to introduce some of you to the four stages of learning and how they apply to this poem
Step 1: Unconscious Incompetence (you don't know what you don't know)
"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."
unconscious incompetence is the first stage before experiencing anything new, you're obliviously kind of trotting around with no concept of holes or the perils of falling into them and boom, in you go! buuut you just learned a little something from your experience which moves you into...
Step 2: Conscious Incompetence
"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 am in the same place. But, it isn't my fault. It still takes me a long time to get out."
long story short...you suck at holes bro but the good news is your now aware of that fact, conscious incompetence is the realization that there is much to learn and that you are a beginner.
Step 3: Conscious Competence
"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."
Ok so you still fell in the hole in this example but you seem to be taking some responsibility and recovering quickly, conscious competence is the stage where you are getting the hang of things though it still requires your attention.
Step 4: Unconscious Competence
"I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it."
Congratulations! You have finally reached unconscious competence which means you won't be giving this hole much thought anymore and if for whatever reason you fell down it again you are a master at getting out. This poem lends itself better to relationship spirals but for the purpose of my peace of mind I leave you with this diagram and video to wrap it up in a nice bow for you.
