I'VE TAUGHT AT A TOP IMPROV SCHOOL FOR 10 YEARS AND HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT AND MOST WIDELY APPLICABLE LESSON I'VE LEARNED

There are literally countless valuable lessons in improv we can apply to our lives. Improvisation by its nature is unpredictable, at best, wonderfully unpredictable. When we improvise, we willfully let go of control and enter a headspace of play. So there is a certain irony in what I regard as the singular lesson that counts most on stage and in life, because It's all about the one thing you can control.

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That is, simply, your own level of commitment.

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No matter whether I'm watching students or professionals, it always gives a jolt of ecstatic joy to see someone cast off fear and self-consciousness and just completely go for it in a way only they as a unique individual can. It's impossible to resist the performer who gives it their all.

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Think of Robin Williams or Jim Carrey - certainly you think of their talent, but you know them because they married that talent with complete commitment in their performances.

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But setting aside entertainment, the lesson is even more profound in impact if applied in our own lives.

For all the modern talk of mindfulness, we still mostly set our minds to autopilot, because that's what day to day living does to us. When I'm up at six, getting my daughter ready for school, I'm not celebrating the way I'm going for it, finding one missing shoe so we're not late, trying not to burn the toast, I'm not thinking - whoopee I'm checking the traffic app!

I don't know about you, but for me, sometimes it's real easy to forget I have agency in my own life.

I have to purposefully stop, when I have a moment to do so, and order my thoughts, check in with my emotions, and then take stock of what I want to accomplish today, tomorrow, and on into the future.

But once I do take that moment, I try to remember that vital lesson - I'm in control of one key element. I'm the one person who gets to decide how far I'm willing to go to make things happen in my world.

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The same applies to you. Today could be the day you decide to give yourself 100% to your goal. If you do, that's great.

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Or perhaps equally useful, maybe today's the day you decide you won't commit 100% to something in your life, because in your heart of hearts, it's just not what you want. Also great. Really. Because in that case, it obviously begs the question - what do you really want?

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Or if you're actually willing to give your all to that want, maybe you've crossed into the vastly different terrain of : what do I absolutely NEED to do?

Let's take a pause right there. Ask yourself right now - what do I want enough to give everything I've got to get it? Only you can answer that. And only you can decide to commit yourself completely to reaching your personal goal.

Maybe you know right away what it is, maybe not.

Or maybe there's an unhelpful little voice saying, "Yes but..." If so, apply the first rule of improv: You need to shut out that voice in favor of the voice that says "Yes, and..."

Maybe your mind runs to other negative possibilities - you want to give 100% but there's an obstacle, internal or external. Fear may be standing in your way - and it may be rational, sure, but much more likely, it's inflated beyond truth for whatever reason. Maybe you fear change, humiliation, failure, or violating the expectations of those close to you. Your finances or other life circumstances may stand in your way. Right?

Ok, let's assume you have seemingly insurmountable blocks to getting where you want. Whatever your obstacles, is it not possible that you could commit 100% to figuring out a step by step plan for ultimately dismantling those obstacles? And then commit to taking action every day to enact that plan? And from there commit to continuing to climb to the ultimate goal?

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Life, like improv, is unpredictable, because life is improvised. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring, but if you embrace the one element you can control, the most extraordinary things can happen.

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The Buddha, who I hope was funnier than he sounds, said life is suffering. Sounds awful, but what he was getting at was this: we suffer because we struggle against the constant change that is the nature of the world. Or, to put it another way, your life sucks when you resist it being an improv. So commit to the improv that is your life.

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We all face hard times - the deaths of our loved ones, the disappointments of relationships, of work and career, the inevitable failure of our physical bodies. We have personal shortcomings, and we are who we are. Truthfully, we can't control much.

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So do everything in your limited power to make the things you want happen. The more you commit, the more likely you are to reach your heart's desire. I'll say that again, because it's simple and it's true. The more you commit, the more likely you are to reach your heart's desire. You are in COMPLETE control of that. Go for it. Now. Today. Starting right this moment, make your own level of commitment 100%.

Henry Watkins, Instructor, The Groundlings Theatre and School