I recently started reading Tina Fey’s hilarious and practical autobiographical comedy, Bossypants. While she has reminded me about the importance of humor, her lessons have also reminded me how I can be a proactive creator.
When I first read the section in her book titled “The Rules of Improvisation That Will Change Your Life and Reduce Belly Fat,” I was curious and skeptical at the same time (she quickly confirms that improv will not reduce belly fat). Although I had been exposed to the improv rules by participating in various leadership workshops, maybe Tina Fey would offer new wisdom or at the very least, I’d laugh a lot.
Initially, I found myself laughing occasionally, especially when reading her examples of applying the rules of improv. Then, a serious thing happened. As soon as I read the last rule, “there are no mistakes, only opportunities,” I realized I needed to alter part of my engineering mindset that was no longer serving me. As engineers we are trained to see problems and find solutions to fix them. Because we live in a complex world, these solutions can and must be creative. However, most engineers, including myself, don’t typically see a problem or mistake in a design or product and immediately see it as a new opportunity to push ourselves and create something better. Most engineers would deliver a solution (i.e., tool) to fix or deal with the problem.
To teach my inner engineer something new, I started thinking about these improv rules from a personal growth mindset. If I train my mind to see opportunities instead of mistakes, I create room for possibility and decrease the chances of being so hard on myself for making a mistake (because they don’t exist). I have the ability to get creative about how I approach new and unexpected opportunities. I can also have fun in the process.
Each of us has the power to see any situation from a proactive creator mindset. It may feel hard at first but we can change our thinking and get creative about how we see our circumstances and ultimately how we choose to create new beautiful solutions, products, and stories.
Tina Fey has reminded me that I need to take an improv class so I can practice and use these improv rules in my daily life. Perhaps through practice I can introduce myself to more humor, flexibility, creativity, and personal growth.
Check back later as I plan to write a longer post about lessons learned from Bossypants.