The Realistic Optimism of Improvisation
by Robert Hackman
Picture by Dramomir-Posteby-Mach on Unsplash
I think it is time for some improvisation
So, if you feel
Just like I do, let’s lift the weight of the world
From each other’s shoulders
Each new day,
From the Song ‘Start of Something New’
By Death of the Author
I struggle with stories of loss, my own, and others. Their occurrence is unrelenting. They have come close to home recently through the damage of Hurricane Ida in the mid-Atlantic.
A friend lost his entire office submerged in six feet of water in an area not ordinarily susceptible to flooding; the building was condemned.
His losses epitomize the more extensive devastation to life and property across the greater community—heightening the uncertainty that has taken up residence as our constant companion.
Resistance and its antidotes
I notice my resistance to what happens.
I want to determine how to improve my reaction and to best help, others do the same.
Refusal to acknowledge does not help me respond to my circumstances; profound acceptance does.
Acceptance clears the deck to start anew at any given moment. It includes allowing my feelings too. Afraid of being consumed by undesirable emotions, I tend to stuff them instead, inadvertently holding onto them and compromising my resilience in the process.
The adage, “what you resist persists,’ applies here. Over time these unexpressed feelings weigh me down and hold me back. What are the alternatives?
Avoiding, denying, pretending, fostering grievance, and becoming nostalgic are all ways of saying ‘no’ to my present situation. Instead of these familiar coping strategies, I can learn to incorporate improvisation into my way of living.
Improvisation
Rather than saying no, I can practice saying ‘yes and.’ Doing so takes profound courage, vulnerability, and faith.
Far from winging it, improvisation pulls from a series of behavioral principles that include:
- Listening – attune to yourself, others, and your environment
- Say Yes – acknowledge what is
- Say Yes And – choose your responses to your current realities and build
- Live in the moment – tap into your body to get present-centered
- Let go of the possibility of mistakes, past and present, and focus on learning
Committing to these new habits, as with any change, takes awareness, intention, and follow-through.
I am conscious of my inclination to say no through denial. Despite warnings of heavy flooding and possible tornadoes, I drove to the gym without concern. I did not turn back until encountering my third unpassable road—a clear example of saying no to the new realities.
If I had adopted an improvisational approach, I would have attuned myself to the changing severity of the local weather.
Acknowledging we had experienced flooding and tornadoes in the area less than two weeks prior, I laugh at the folly of telling myself I do not need to worry because I do not live in the Midwest.
I would have practiced gratitude, concentrated my efforts on developing creative responses to my changing environment, and even grieved some for the loss of security resulting from the increasing intensity of weather events and let it go.
Collectively, these may seem like a lot of work, yet they are actually pretty simple; practice shifting to an improvisational mindset based on optimism and openness to the reality of what is.
Improvisational mindsets trigger creativity and inventiveness. They possess the added benefits of opening you to collaboration and giving to and receiving from others more readily.
Still skeptical; do you believe adlibbing would lead you astray? If so, please keep in mind the highly accomplished actor and director Clint Eastwood insightfully declared, ‘My whole life has been one big improvisation.’
My work focuses on helping people hone their understanding of what matters to them in work and life. I help them make the changes needed to live their lives with fewer regrets—increasing their awareness that their legacies accumulate from everyday moments.
Improvisational perspectives add complementary behaviors and mindsets to these frameworks.
Key take-aways:
- Avoiding, denying, pretending, grievance, and nostalgia represent ways you resist reality.
- The principles of improvisation help you respond optimistically, creatively, and collaboratively to what is.
- Embracing improvisational habits like using ‘Yes, and…’ helps you let go of expectations, keeps you in the present, and increases your resilience.
- You can expand possibilities for yourself and others by employing improvisational mindsets and behaviors at any time.
If you are curious about how applying improvisational mindsets benefits you, your team, and your organization, please reach out to me. I welcome the connection.
Robert Hackman, Principal, 4C Consulting and Coaching. He provides executive coaching for leadership impact, growth, and development for individuals, teams, and organizations. Committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, he facilitates trusting environments that promote unusually candid conversations. Rob is also passionate about the power of developing Legacy Mindsets and has conducted over 50 Legacy interviews with people to date.
A serious man with a dry sense of humor who loves absurdity can often be found hiking rocky elevations or making music playlists. His mixes, including Pandemic Playlists and Music About Men, among others, can be found on Spotify.