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A few years ago, I attended my friend to Nick’s party 40. Birthday parties.
As part of the celebration, he hired an improvised comic and we everything He had to participate in learning improvisors.
(I just felt the collective shiver of all introverts reading this newsletter).
We started throwing fun scenarios and scenes to participate and learned about the most important rule extermination: “Yes and”.
Two simple words and foundations for all improvised comedy:
Whenever someone finds a scene, a sentence or situation, the only acceptable answer is: “yes and”
- Yes: Accepting! I accept and admit that everything is the situation, no matter how absurd, to be true.
- I: Build! Like a tennis match, after your extermen hit your ball, your job is to hit him back! A building on a situation or scene.
For example, if your extermat who says partner, “I am a space pirate” Your answer could be:
- “Yes, I’m a space police too, you’re arrested!”
- “Yes, I’m the first friend I’m looking for a new crew, this is perfect!”
- “Yes, and my name is Captain Hook, welcome to pirates anonymous.”
The “yes” rule is so crucial, because there is nothing worse than a bad partner!
Kind like Liam Neonson in This short sketch With Ricky Gervais, (I laugh every time):
Yes and the ruling for a living
As a formerly overly overly “gifted child” that has a rather negative internal critic, I worked hard on the inclusion of “yes and” in my life.
Part “yes” was built around acceptance, which was something I spent the last two years working on a hug.
Look at my Essays so far Acceptance and Vabi Sabi More.
It’s “and” part I focused lately.
While Dr. Kristen Neff points out in his book Self-compensinationLife is complex and so are people:
“The verdict defines people as bad versus good and trying to catch its essential nature with simple stickers.
Discriminatory wisdom recognizes complexity and ambiguity. “
Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Things are never so good or bad because our brains think they are too.
So, despite the voice in our heads that wants to judge everything in black and white, yes-no, good or bad, good or bad, we have to remember that life is a beautifully complicated mess.
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald once said:
The first-class intelligence test is the ability to hold two opposite ideas at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
It should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and still decide to bring them differently.
This is my task today for you.
Is there a part of your life that feels black and white and can use some complexity instead?
Nothing is as simple as it seems.
Life is hard, and the change is difficult. And you are a good person trying.
Which means there is hope. And Hope is an emotion of a warrior.
Also, please see that Liam Neeson Skit.
You are welcome.
-Steve
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