Every once in a while I like to take beginning improv classes – a great way to explore and develop responsiveness, helps me with not over-thinking, and also a great way to play and have fun. (If you are in San Francisco, check out Bay Area Theater Sports
I once arrived at a class in San Francisco; the teacher entered and announced with much enthusiasm, “Today we are going to do improvised Shakespeare.” I could feel my body tighten; a touch of dread setting in. I turned to the teacher and said that I didn’t have a good deal of experience with Shakespeare, hoping she would change the topic. Instead, she looked at me and responded with an even more enthusiastic, “Great!”
In that moment, my “story” shifted. I was pulled along by her enthusiasm, let go of most of my dread – I didn’t need to be an expert, didn’t need any special preparation. It was ok to be a beginner. I had a really good time in the class. (She did hand out a Shakespeare cheat sheet).
We all tell ourselves, and others, stories about what we do and who we are – I’m competent or I’m not competent; I’m a writer, or I’m not very good at writing; I’m a teacher or not much of a teacher; I’m a father, or not a very good father.
For many years, when I was running Brush Dance, a greeting card and calendar company that I founded, I noticed that one of the stories I often told myself was that I was a survivor. With this story, I had a tendency to keep the company in a survival mode and mentality. We weren’t failing, but we also weren’t thriving. This story may have been useful when the economy was sinking, but became a hindrance as the economy rebounded. For me, this was a powerful and subtle recognition – a story that I learned as part of my family system, growing up in a family struggling to survive.
My book Less: Accomplishing More By Doing Less is essentially about bringing more awareness to our stories and provides tools and practices to transform them. Just by using the word “story” changes the story – it implies that we have a choice, that we make a choice, in how we define ourselves, others, our situations, our world.
Here is something to experiment with, some voices, some stories to explore. You may want to write these down, or just spend some time thinking about these:
– What is your story about success; about failure?
– What is your story about control?
– What is your story about hope?
– What is your story about wisdom?