Right now, I’m working with my improv students on a game called “Changes.” This is where you do a scene, and the director shouts “change,” and you have to change your last line. Here’s an example:
I wish my students were so good. I wish I were so good. But practice makes you better. (I don’t believe in perfect improv, so practicing changes is what we do.) It’s fun to practice. There is a lot of laughing, and it’s ridiculous.
But changing is actually a lot harder than these professionals make it look. My students struggle because they have a plan in their heads for how the scene should go, and when I shout “change,” it’s difficult because they not only have to change their line, they have to change their whole plan. (Side note: You really shouldn’t plan out your improv scene in your head because that doesn’t work–we’re working on that, too.)
You need to make changes
On a completely unrelated note, I got a message from a friend asking for career advice. He was in a situation where the job he once did is no longer feasible, and he needs a new career path.
Predictably, he shot down every suggestion.
Lots of explanations of why that wouldn’t work or why he couldn’t do that.
Now, reality is that it’s quite possible that my ideas wouldn’t work—at least not all of them. But some of them might. And if just one worked, he could be better off.
But you know what is guaranteed not to work? What he was currently doing.
If you want something different to happen, you have to make a change.
You are the person who needs to change
You. Not someone else.
You can wish someone else would change–and sometimes they do–but the only person you have control over is you.
So, if you want different results, do different things. For instance, if your boss takes advantage of you, change how you react when he attempts to do so.
If you don’t make enough money, change how you approach work. Try a new job. Take a class. (I recommend an improv class.)
Just shout change in your brain and then make a change.
Will you fail?
Of course.
I wish I had a simple way to make everything awesome in one fell swoop, but I don’t. So make a change. If it works, great! If it doesn’t work, make another change.
But what if I get fired?
Well, I don’t recommend that the change you make is to put poison in your boss’s coffee.
Some changes may result in termination. But here’s the unfortunate truth: Not changing can also result in termination.
If you don’t like how things are going, change—right now. Change something. Then, report back on how it’s going.
Coming up:
If you want to make a real change in your career, join Victoria Purser, SPHR, SHRM-SCP and I for HR Vision ’25. We will help you make the changes you need to make to make your career take off.