Life Lessons from Improv Class

Jeff and I finished our improv class before Spring Break, but I haven't taken the time to put down my thoughts about it. It was a wonderful experience overall, even though parts of it were hard, uncomfortable and exhausting. For us, it wasn't about acting or being funny, it was just about learning to be better people and how to roll with whatever life throws at us. After all, what is life but a great improvisation, despite our best efforts to plan it all out? I think a class like this would be beneficial to anyone, so if you're feeling brave and want to stretch yourself a bit, give it a try. (We think it's so great, we are planning to enroll our kids in an improv summer camp). I think there are classes all over, but we took our class at The Hideout Theatre in Austin. They have tons of classes and great staff. Here are some of the life lessons we learned:

• Have fun. This is the most important thing! 
• It's o.k. to fail. In fact, sometimes the greatest failures produce the greatest successes. Acknowledge the failure, laugh at yourself, and then move on. You don't accomplish anything by dwelling on the failure, except to ensure more failure. 
• Be obvious. It's o.k. to say, think, feel, or act out the thing that is most obvious. Many times this will be a relief to those around you, because they don't have to try to figure you out. And, this, in turn, will make things run much smoother. 
• Be affected. It's o.k. to be affected by others, to let your guard down, to give up or share control sometimes. It's also important to ask for details and the feelings of others, and to be willing to share your own. 
• "Yes, and." This is one of the most amazing principles of improv. Acknowledge a situation, emotion, statement, etc. without trying to resist it or judge it ("Yes"), then go from there to make it your own ("and"). "Yes, and" works every time, however "Yes, but" and "Yes, or" don't work, because they bring in judgement and conflict and keep you from moving forward. I dare you to try this in everyday life. It's a game changer. 
• Taking it a step further, "Yes, and, because" works the best, because it allows you to give meaning to every situation. 
• Be in the moment. Don't be distracted by what has already happened or what you think might happen. Sometimes it's important to act like no other moment exists except the one you're in. Also, don't let your mind wander. Train yourself to focus just on this moment, just on this subject, just on this person, etc. 
• Be committed. Be all-in, for better or worse. I was able to apply this principle on our ski trip when moving down the mountain. I noticed that the times I fully committed to my turns, I skied very well. When I couldn't quite make up my mind and hesitated or became wishy-washy, I lost my balance and almost tumbled down the mountain. A few times on difficult blues and blacks, I even said out loud to myself, "Commit!" It made all the difference. 
• Confidence is key. Speak and act with confidence (even if you have to "fake it to make it")--like you mean it and like you believe it. Sometimes this can be as simple as changing your body language or words: having an upright posture, making eye contact, speaking in complete sentences, enunciating vs. looking down/averting your gaze, touching your face, mumbling, giving one-word answers, being fidgety, drawing yourself inward. 
• A similar principle is the idea of "Jump and Justify." Jump in with words or actions, even if you're nervous or unsure, then justify why they are meaningful. Very often in my life, I have tried to justify first, and then I never got around to jumping.