On our homepage, I followed Simon Sinek's advice to "start with WHY"
WHY impro studio: "At impro studio we nourish each other's well-being. Through connecting with ourselves and others, we respond in-the-moment to personal, local, and global needs."
WHY improvisation: "By practicing improvisation, we train our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational flexibility."
All true... or is it?
WHY start with WHY? According to Sinek and many other marketing gurus: “People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.”
This answer is a perfect example of WHY I find starting with WHY so tricky. As soon as I copied that quote to this page, the answer to the WHY question became "to make sales."
But that's not really WHY I do things this way!
WHY then? Well, because...
It is tempting to frontload you with a whole blog full of reasons WHY we do what we do, WHY I want you to know this and WHY I think you would benefit from doing it too.
Positive Psychologists, NLP-Practitioners, and Solution Focused Coaches would all approve of this intentional use of language. To reach your goals, you first need to know where you're heading...
However, as soon as I say to you that by practicing improvisation you can:
build your confidence,
experience connection to yourself, others and the world,
and/or become a more well rounded healthy human being,
I have inadvertedly called the opposite of these abilities and attributes into existence. Although they are all possible outcomes (which I also benefit from in my own life), by naming these goals I infer that you are not yet confident or connected enough and that your 'being' needs to be molded (by us) into a specific shape in order to be considered 'healthy.'
For something to go up, it must first be down.
It doesn't matter what I write here about WHY because the words alone are not the truth. Yet, you might understand and recognise your WHY in mine. Perhaps my story triggers a longing in you for something you wish to experience or change in yourself and your life.
Maybe that's WHY you're here? Or maybe you are curious to find out what I'm up to? Or maybe it's because yesterday you had a cup of tea and your dog barked funnily this morning?
Whatever brought you to this page, I welcome you into our space:
Welcome to impro studio!
A space of possibility and potential, balance and contradictions. Where nothing means anything, and everything can come from nothing. We have a myriad of reasons for WHY we do WHAT we do and HOW we do it. A couple of reasons we are consciously aware of:
WHY improvisation: "Improvisation is an inherent human capability. {...} By practicing improvisation, we train our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational flexibility."
WHY impro studio: "At impro studio we nourish each other's well-being. Through connecting with ourselves and others, we respond in-the-moment to personal, local, and global needs. Whatever happens, life is to be experienced and engaged with."
But how do we become receptive for 'all of life' when we don’t yet know what the next step is, where it’s going to take us, or who we’ll be when we get there?
Rather than saying that we practice improvisation to experience certain benefits in our lives, we set our intention on practicing improvisation and experiencing the benefits of our practice in our lives. This leaves room for much more to (not) happen. Because some of our reasons we don't yet know.*
We don't know where exactly this is going to lead us.
It is in our relationships and our work together that we find out what this space has to offer us. Whatever your intention might be, when you come to one single session, you may get the benefits of that one session. If you attend every week, then you may see benefits from your regular practice. If you dedicate a year, two, ...
... the point is that all of our methods have the potential to start to change something within you. WHAT that is exactly and WHY, only you can tell us, with time.**
What we do know is that doing explains everything. Have a go, practice, and find the answers to your questions for yourself. As you practice, your personal WHY will come out of relating to that which is being developed inside yourself.
Our offer to you is our time, space and attention. More than anything, we invite you to join our journey of discovery. WHY?
Do it, then you know.
* With gratitude to Nora Bateson for pointing out this difference of "to" and "and" to me.
** With gratitude to Shi Heng Yi from Shaolin Temple Europe for being so very clear on this.
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