Escape From Pianosa

The Tao. This book kept coming up in my thoughts so I decided to read it. What does it mean? I cannot say for sure, but I’m fascinated with the idea of “wu-wei,” which some translate as unattached action, effortless effort, or action through inaction.

Unattached action is my favorite translation, and I interpret it to mean that you should act purposefully, but without great attachment to the outcomes of your actions, for you can never truly control the consequences of your actions nor can you control (or predict) the future environment in which those consequences will play out. In other words, don’t worry too much about the future because you can’t predict it.

This thought has come up recently for me in improv, when teachers talk about not going into a scene with pre-conceived notions about what that scene will entail. If you try and force your pre-conceived notion of what the scene will be about, then you will be rigid and unable to react and respond appropriately to your partner. Basically, you will suck because you are trying to shape your future in a way that is impossible (unless your partner is a mind-reader).

It came up again when I read Nassim Taleb. The Black Swan has no doubt changed my philosophy of life. He showed me just how damn hard it is to predict the future. Better to live in the moment and not create anxiety for yourself when the things that shape your life will probably be unforeseen and heavily influenced by luck.

Is this all a recipe for complete inaction and resignation? Absolutely not. Your actions today will still shape the future, and not in entirely random ways. Move toward what you want in life, but don’t plan too far ahead, and be flexible for when conditions change. At least that’s my current experiment in life philosophy.

Impro, by Keith Johnstone, is a brilliant book. It’s written for comedic improvisers and teachers of improv but it’s so much more than that. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in creativity or human behavior. It begins with an autobiographical description by Johnstone, of his life at school and how his creativity was stunted and hammered out of him by vicious and probably well-meaning teachers.

So you must work to reclaim your imagination. It’s not so much that you are un-imaginative, rather that you are ashamed of what your imagination spits out, and you have been taught to be this way (and sometimes what your subconscious spits out can be rather gruesome or even fearful). Don’t fear your imagination, it’s a great asset. It’s ok if you have nasty thoughts. You can acknowledge them without acting on them.

How is your creativity stamped out? In school your goal is always to be right and correct and to get an A, and this is a great way to stamp out creativity because it fosters the illusion that there is one-right-answer to questions you will face in life, and it exacts a penalty for being wrong. Of course when you are creating, you cannot be wrong. But the system’s not set up to make you creative.

I blame government schools of course, although your friends and family can be just as repressive, starting from a very early age. The schools are inhumane in many ways and one can see that by visiting even the best of the public schools and seeing how many students are falling asleep, bored to tears, and in revolt. I felt intuitively that there was something wrong with the system when I was in high school, although I could never put my finger on it.

Being relatively intelligent, I figured out that to make people happy I could game the system and get the A’s I needed to keep my teachers and parents happy. I felt the same way years later when I worked for Social Security but by then I couldn’t stomach the game anymore.

First off, my Euro-trip is in a state of perpetual delay. It entered this state only after I told everyone I knew that I was going to Europe, and yes I’m so excited! Predictable. Now I believe that my Euro-trip is waiting for me to make plans for the fall and find a great job here stateside before it becomes a reality, forcing me into a painful dilemma. The Euro trip is my greatest enemy right now.

In other news, I spent nearly all of last week(end) at the Theater Project in Mt. Vernon, working on stuff related to the Baltimore Improv Festival. I was excited and nervous to host opening night, which turned out to be a great success. I had my first performance on Saturday night. People tell me it went well but I don’t really remember; I was so nervous and excited that I basically blacked out and can hardly remember what I said or did on stage. Glad to have my first one out of the way, hopefully with many more shows to come.

The rest of the weekend was spent in workshops or watching shows. I was going to say what my favorites were but there were so many killer performances I can’t even remember them all. Caveat from WIT, Neutrino, Upright Citizens Brigade, Rare Bird Show, and of course the BIG troupes all stand out.

Did an awesome workshop with Neutrino on Saturday. Why is improv so fun? Because you can get together for three hours with random people, screaming at the top of your lungs, crying, laughing, and going crazy. If you do it well enough, people laugh and say you’re really hilarious and that looks so hard how do you do it! And it’s all encouraged and very cathartic of course. I’m hopelessly addicted.

And the last excuse for not blogging is that I’ve been at the beach all week… I apologize to my loyal readers and friends in med school who have nothing better to do when on-call at 2 AM (that’s why we play fantasy baseball..so that these moments of boredom can never occur!). More to come…

Sadly, my advanced improv class with the Baltimore Improv group is over. The advanced class was much more challenging than the beginner and the teachers really pushed us to develop new characters.

If you’re in the Baltimore area, I strongly recommend taking one of BIG’s classes; I’ve never had so much fun in my life. If you don’t live in Baltimore, then most major cities have places where you can take classes; if you’re looking to laugh a lot, meet new people, and push your comfort level, then it’s a great experience. On the other hand, if you want to be alone, not laugh, and be comfortable, I suggest skipping the improv and staying home.

So what now? I’ve been reading up on improv here and here (I took a class with Mike, who is now blogging on improv and obscure computer topics in computer programming), I’m going to try out for some improv troupes, and a few of my classmates might be starting up a group of our own.

Looking at my reader stats, I’ve discovered that while many of you come in search of celebrity gossip, the overwhelming majority come to find out “how to become an extrovert.”

I wrote the original post half-jokingly after going to a commercial real estate networking event, alone, without knowing anyone in advance. It was an interesting experience in the spirit of self-experimentation.

I’ve been experimenting, in the last six months or so, with ways to become more extroverted. I don’t really believe that someone can “become an extrovert” per se, because introverts are just people who need time alone to recharge. I do however believe that introverts can become more comfortable and outgoing in social situations. Yes, my shy friend, you too can be the life of the party, as long as you recharge when you get home.

Here’s some advice:

1. Learn to embrace the discomfort zone. That feeling of unease that accompanies a new activity is a good sign: it means you’re growing. It hurts at first, but if you work past that initial resistance, good things lay ahead. This goes for anything new you’re learning or experiencing.

2. Go out and meet people. I’ve found that networking functions are great because you already have an “excuse” for being there, namely that you are trying to drum up new business. One you’re there, talk to new people. Just walk up and start talking to them or ask them about what they do. If you freeze, don’t worry, go to the bathroom, clear your mind, and then talk to the next person you see (after you leave the bathroom). Business drumming optional.

2. Join local clubs or meet-ups. This is a comfortable way to meet new people and will help prepare you for when you’re ready to meet and socialize with total strangers.

3. If you travel, try traveling alone. This is a great way to meet new people and works really well if you’re doing the backpacking/hostel style of travel. Faced with the prospect of staring at the hostel wall all night, you will soon learn to make new friends. After traveling alone quite a bit, I really prefer it because I’ve met so many people this way.

4. Take an improv class. I signed up for one here in Baltimore about two months ago and it’s been one of the most fun and exciting things I’ve ever done. I took the class more for the fun aspect than the “become an extrovert” aspect, but it’s had a really noticeable effect on me. It teaches you to enjoy that feeling of not knowing what to say when you meet someone and to turn it into a fun and humorous experience.