Last night in my improv theater class, I tried as hard as I could to fail.
We did an exercise where we were specifically tasked to mess up our partnerās sketch. I tried everything. I ignored what they said, changed the subject completely, refused to cooperate. I did my best to destroy whatever they were trying to create.
But no matter what I did, we realized something incredible: It was impossible to mess it up.
Every time I threw a curveball, my partner just pivoted. They adapted. They decided my āuncooperativeā character was just insane or having a bad day. Somehow, the scene still made sense. It still worked.
It made me think about how we live our lives. We spend so much energy playing it safe and playing it small because we are terrified of making a mistake.
But what if you actually canāt mess it up?
If you act with an open heart and good intentions, there is no such thing as a āruinedā scene. There is only a new direction. Knowing that you canāt truly fail gives you the impulse to take more risks and act with more courage.
Stop playing it safe. Test it out. See what happens when you stop trying to avoid the āmistakeā and just start seeing where the pivot takes you.