Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up

by Patricia Ryan Madson

try this: Write down the facts.

“No, no, no. I don’t want you to make it easier. I want you to struggle. That’s how the muscles will learn to heal. By stabilizing things you defeat the point of the exercise. Stay with the uncertainty, please. Really, it’s all about the struggle.”

develop tolerance for instability.

[the eighth maxim] stay on course

Some guiding force underlies each moment. We need to keep in mind what we are aiming for. Instead of asking, “What do I feel like doing?” substitute “What is my purpose now?”

try this: “What is my purpose now?”

try this: What would not get done if you were not here?

[the ninth maxim] wake up to the gifts

We are not on the stage alone. We are literally surrounded by gifts and by a chain of givers who are responsible for providing them.

My task was to focus on three questions. What had I received from others during my life? What had I given back to them? What trouble or bother had I caused them?

I walked into a brand-new movie of my life,

the nature of a gift as something that must keep on moving, and moving away from us. It is less important that we return something directly to the one who gave to us than it is that we keep the energy of the gift alive, in motion, moving forward.

can’t control how others receive a gift.

Never let an hour go by without giving credit to someone.

try this: Make a point of thanking people for thankless jobs.

While the critical method sharpens the mind, it dulls the heart.

Generalizations such as “I have a lot of blessings” are missing something;

The very best thank-you is one that acknowledges the detail of what you have received—

Life comes to us as details. Look for them.

try this: Make a list of what you have received from others today. Find the particulars.

try this: Who are your remote helpers?

try this: Practice thanksgiving.

looking for variations of ways to express it

try this: Write a thank-you note or e-mail every day.

[the tenth maxim] make mistakes, please

“Fortunately,” my husband remarked, “there are no Olympic judges watching our lives.”

challenging, something out of your comfort zone, where mistakes are possible (and likely), and to proceed boldly.

the real question to ask afterward is not “How on earth did I do that?” but rather “What comes next? What can I make of this? What kind of a bonus might this be?”

Don’t be careless, and don’t be overly careful. Our goal is resilience, and perseverance in the face of failure.

try this: Take a risk. Check out a new restaurant

We need to let go of outcomes.

Observe the currents of life, accept what is happening, including mistakes, and continue working to create the best outcome. The key here is a flexible mind.

When you make a mistake, turn your attention to what comes next. Focus on doing that well, with full mind and heart. Look ahead, not back.

John Wooden quote that “the team that makes the most mistakes is going to win.”

try this: Take a circus bow.

try this: Experiment with the principle of bricolage.

[the eleventh maxim] act now

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

“For all my dreams, I am what I do,” muses psychologist David K. Reynolds.

Putting off those we like least provides a double penalty: the work looms and we consider ourselves failures.

if you can’t get out of it, get into it.

try this: Schedule that job you have ...

Focus on taking the f...

Morita Therapy—based on the healing power of action. He helped his patients to see that constructive action was already a cure,

The improviser in me is trained to take action rather than muse over whose job it may be. It is always my job if I see it to do, and I’m able to do the task.

Procrastinating with an essential job compounds the problem. The specter of it haunts. Start your day by doing what is vital to your well-being.

try this: Do the essential job first.

Are your friendships based solely on supportive talk? Why not strengthen the bonds through action? Relationships grow when we do useful things together. Be the instigator.

try this: Harness the power of friendship.

Constructive action arises from clear purposes.