First Responder

You still learn things as long as you remain committed to the process. I've been doing improv for a few years, and there's a lot left to know. I have some natural obstacles to deal with, so maybe it's a longer road for me than for others. I know the fundamentals, but executing some things that go against my personality flaws is a real challenge. Becoming a better improviser will, necessarily, make me a better, happier and more successful person.

I picked up something in improv class a couple days ago that was interesting. I am an all or nothing person in some ways. I do well with things that I do every day. I struggle with things that I do not do that regularly. I suspect that it's an obsessive-compulsive thing. Sometimes that can work for you. I obsessively write for this blog to ensure that a post goes out every day. I write a minimum of seven tweets for every day, spacing them two hours apart from 10am to 10pm. That is set in stone.

I got a little far afield from the improv thing there. What I was getting to was how that obsessiveness  can work for me. I resolved before class to jump out first for scenes every chance I got. That could be called a selfish attitude, but I feel that I can either be first or I can be last, or even not in the game at all. Those are the two easiest ways in for me: before anyone else works up the nerve, or after everyone else has picked the bones clean. The middle is hard.

I followed through on my plan, and felt as if not only did going out first ensure that I got my licks in, it resulted in me doing better work as well. I felt pretty happy with what I did, although it was subject to some fair criticisms. With those scenes as an example of what I can do if I show some aggression, I plan on sticking to this way of operating until I see some kind of negative outcome. I don't see that as likely in the short term.