Can I get a hell yeah?
In the world of improv, the key to a successful skit is the phrase “yes, and…”
If I start crawling around on the floor and tell you I'm a lemur, the skit will come to a screeching halt if you tell me that no, you're not a lemur, you're a Kim.
First of all, what if I wanted to be a lemur? And second of all, the skit just ended. Improvisational comedy relies on acceptance over rejection. When people agree to do an improv skit, they are committing to the acceptance of whatever each actor brings to the routine.
I think there are many lessons to be pulled out of the idea of acceptance over rejection, especially at a time when managing a global pandemic forces changes and adjustments on a weekly, if not daily, basis in many aspects of our lives. And, much like working with an improv actor, we have little control over what is going to be said and done.
When I think of the concept of “yes, and” I’m also reminded of one of my lacrosse teammates from college who implemented a slightly more enthusiastic version of that acceptance.
Every time we were faced with some horrible conditioning exercise, Sandy would take off running and scream “Can I get a hell yeah?”
100-yard wind sprints?
Hell yeah!
Heart attacks around the lacrosse field?
Hell yeah!
Playing a game in 38 degrees with rain blowing sideways?
No. Just…no.
Admittedly, I wasn’t one for shouting or showing that kind of enthusiasm about anything, but I learned very quickly in sports that part of what you say yes to in competing is going through certain periods of suffering. We have a choice when faced with the moments that present themselves throughout the day, to either accept them or reject them. Even right now, in a time where we have so little control over many things, we do have a choice and some control in the way we respond to what’s happening.
What Sandy always did well was embrace the experience in front of her. And how many of us, purely out of habit, reject the experience directly in front of us. It’s one of the challenges of developing many of the healthier habits that we’re trying to convince ourselves to do.
What do you complain about? What causes you to roll your eyes to the back of your head and sigh the kind of sigh that wakes up everyone in church? What are the things in life that cause you discomfort? What are you trying to avoid?
What if you could look at some of those situations and say:
Can I get a hell yeah?
Or perhaps, if you’re not much of a shouter, what if you said yes…and?
Saying yes leaves you open to possibilities. The attitude of yes feels collaborative and open.
No has it’s place. Rejection has its place.
But what if you could look at the difficult things in your life and say hell yes? To practice opening up to acceptance?
Carrying forward that attitude of "yes, and" fosters the environment for change, creativity, and collaboration. It leaves the door open for possibilities.
So, can I get a hell yeah?