One of my favourite books this year was ‘Improv Wisdom’ by Patricia Ryan Madson, a professor of drama and improvisation at Stanford for 28 years.
As it turns out, we can learn a lot about how to live a happy and fulfilled life from improvised theatre.
One particular phrase stood out to me. Patricia encouraged all her students to “make at least one ego-crushing mistake per class.”
Improv theatre is about saying “yes” to the suggestions of those sharing the stage with us. It’s a willingness to try something new. It’s the self-awareness to know that some ideas will fail miserably, and that’s okay.
If we’re not trying anything new, if we don’t risk making an ego-crushing mistake, we’ll never break new ground. This is true in theatre, in work, and in life.