The person in the poem has an obstacle in his way. His obstacle is the hole in the sidewalk. The first time he falls in, it takes him forever to get out. The second time he falls in, he pretends he does not see it and it takes him a long time to get out. The third time he sees the hole but because he has a habit of falling in, he falls in once again. He exits the hole immediately. The hole caught him by surprise the first time. He was not able to avoid it. He could have been proactive and took the initiative to see the hole the second time around, but he chose to pretend it was not there. Just by pretending the hole is not there, does not mean the obstacle is not there. He still has to realize his problems will still follow him. On his third trip, he sees the hole but still falls in. This is an example of developing a habit. Since he has fell into the hole so many times before, he is used to falling in and not maneuvering around it. But finally, he walks around it. He shows that bad habits can be broken. He moved himself from a reactive frame of mind to a proactive frame of mind. We all can change this life pattern by repetition. I believe the guy in this poem learned from his mistakes and that is why is was able to get around the hole.