What don’t you do? – Part 2 –

In part 1, we discussed how most people grow into a habit and remain comfortable with the habit unless strongly acted upon. The cause of these habits usually occurs through an event either externally or internally. For example, if you are the type of person who is afraid to talk loudly in public, it didn’t just happen like *poof*. Something had to cause that habit.

Perhaps, one day, when you were 3 years old you were walking through the mall with your mom for the first time and “innocently” commented on how the cashier was “REALLY FAT”! Then you went home and mother scolded you for the next 3 hours because of that. Ever since then you never spoke loudly in public. It’s not that you are a person that doesn’t speak loudly in public. It’s that an event happened, a result occurred and you started a new habit. That is the basis for most of actions.

Event
Result
Habit

Unless a strong enough force occurred to change you, you kept this habit.

This is where improv comes in. Most people will not actively try to inject new social habits into their daily life. I do, but I’m a Personal Evolutionist…or sociopath (depending on whether or not you like me). Improv can be a sort of social playground where you can fully start to explore traits of your personality you thought didn’t or couldn’t exist.

Through improv (and everywhere else that I can in life) I try to find a trait that I don’t normally display and start expressing it. There are many things I’ve been actively changing in myself through improv and life in general. Even through writing this article I’m changing a part of me. I am learning to:

1. Expand on ideas

Before, if I was to describe everything that I’m describing in this article series, it would’ve gone something like this:

“People tend to limit themselves by saying who they are. They should throw that silly idea out the window and start injecting new aspects of their personality into their life (or improv). It will help them grow as individuals and performers.”

That would’ve been the original entry. But now, since I’m trying to develop new habits in the way I communicate with people, you have to sit through pages of a blog entry instead of just 4 lines I would’ve written before this change.

There are other examples of how I am changing myself through improv and I will expand on these ideas in part 3 of this article.

Till next time, stay sexy Rochester.
Lister