Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up

by Patricia Ryan Madson

Making decisions solely to please others is a formula destined to fail.

A good improviser is someone who is awake, not entirely self-focused, and moved by a desire to do something useful and give something back and who acts upon this impulse.

The habit of excessive planning impedes our ability to see what is actually in front of us. The mind that is occupied is missing the present.

Fear is not the problem; allowing your attention to be consumed by it is.

There is a widespread belief that thinking “outside the box” (some call this the goal of creativity) means going after far-out and unusual ideas. A true understanding of this phrase means seeing what is really obvious, but, up until then, unseen.

God has given each of us our “marching orders.” Our purpose here on Earth is to find those orders and carry them out. Those orders acknowledge our special gifts. —SøREN KIERKEGAARD

Instead of asking, “What do I feel like doing?” substitute “What is my purpose now?” The difference in the answer may be illuminating.

I cannot do All the good That the world Needs But the world Needs all the good That I can do. —JANA STANFIELD, “All the Good,” Let the Change Begin

“Don’t just do something. Stand there.”

Show up on time. Be nice to people. Do what you say you’ll do. Deliver more than you promise. Work with enthusiasm and passion.