Life Lessons From Improv

I started an improv class two weeks ago. No, I don’t want to be a comedian or do stand up. My

reasons for taking the class were much more personal than that.

Over the last 2 years my work, which has given me so much fulfillment in the past, began to feel

like an itchy, too-tight sweater. I acknowledge now, as I did then, that to get into management I

would need to take any group that was hiring - a sacrifice that I was willing to make.

But as the sweater has slowly grown tighter, and itchier, I started feeling like I was losing a piece of myself. I began losing my optimism, my smile, my laughter and began to replace these with doubt, negativity and sarcasm. No longer was I what someone coined me- the most optimistic person they knew. Not only that, I felt my creativity slip away along with my "seize life by the ears" attitude.

Through some reflection (thank you senior finance women’s group at Intel) I remembered

the exhilaration I felt when doing theatre in high school. So I found a local improv class, and signed up.

As expected, I have been having A LOT of fun. But the classes have also reinforced some life

lessons for me as well. I am certain there will be more, but this is what has hammered home so far.

Be competent and capable at whatever you do. An improv scene doesn’t work if you ask someone to hand you the bucket and they act like they don’t know what a bucket is.

Life Lesson: Excusing yourself from a task/job because you don't think you have the skills just shows that you cannot learn quickly. You can. Get out there.

Have a point of view, a perspective, an opinion. Be bold and give it your all, otherwise the scene atrophies and dies.

Life Lesson: So much of what we do in work can be automated and, in fact, most of the time it is. What you are paid for is your well-thought-out perspective. So give it. I know it takes work and trust, and it’s risky sometimes. Do it anyway.

Anyone can say “No”. Be the person who says “Yes, and...”

Life Lesson: Build upon ideas to make them better. Assume everyone’s input is valuable, even if it’s just a contribution to something else greater. Stay positive.

Asking questions is lazy and makes the other player do all the work. Not to say that

all questions should be avoided, but if you are spending all your time making up the

“right question” maybe you already know the answer.

Life Lesson: You can go further faster if you trust the good intentions of your partner and move the project along by making suggestions or connections to them.

Don’t be intellectually lazy. Our utilization of the grey matter is pretty low. Force the

neurons to come up with several ideas for you to pick from.

Life Lesson: Be your own ideator. Don’t just stop at the first thought you have. Have several and pick from the best.

Focus and breath. If you don’t breathe you starve your brain. If you are distracted by

everything (squirrel) you won’t be aware of the golden ideas you do have.

Life Lesson: Fuel the brain, complete a task. Multi-tasking only makes it so you do several things poorly. Do one thing superbly.

I am certain there will be more that I pick up. In the meantime I am going to concentrate on

living the lessons I’ve learned.

This blog post was written on 27/04/2012 13:36:00 (UTC)