Don’t Be Afraid To Improvise

Posted on November 24, 2011 | 0 comments

Life is about improvisation, isn’t it? Sure, we can do our best to plan out our day, but improvisation is required as soon as our lives and our plans begin to interact with the lives and plans of others. John Lennon is credited with saying: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

Personally, I’m grateful for that degree of uncertainty in each day. Variety is the spice of life, and I think it would be incredibly boring if each and every day went exactly as you planned it.

And yet, many people seem surprised when life presents them with opportunities to improvise. They are so rigid in their thinking that they don’t know what to do, or how to react, when life doesn’t follow the script that they’ve written out in their own minds.
Do you want to know the secret? The secret to good improvisational skills is to listen and observe more than you speak and act.

Years ago I was in Toastmasters and won numerous awards for impromptu speaking. I was always amused when people would see me before a competition and ask if I was prepared. How on earth do you prepare to improvise? I would answer, “Yes, all day long I’ve abandoned my usual prepared statements. Instead, I’ve just been talking to people!”

Open your mind to the possibilities of improvisation as you make plans and think about your goals and dreams. In the Mortality Manifesto I wrote that you should : “…always strive to ensure that your every thought word and action is moving you in the direction of your dreams.” Notice that I use the word “direction”. As long as you are moving in the right direction, don’t let your plans suffocate spontaneity. Because in the end, some of our fondest memories will be of the wonderful impromptu detours that we have taken while on our journey.