The Average Man: Robert Benchley

The writer and actor Robert Benchley, one of the leading lights of the Algonquin Round Table, was known for his dry, self-deprecating humor and his depiction of the trials and tribulations of the Average Man. Benchley was also responsible for one of my all-time favorite quotes:

“It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by then I was too famous.”

In his inimitably droll style, I think Benchley was simply observing that we are often our own toughest critics. At its worst, this feeling of never-good-enough can lead to the Impostor Syndrome. Lately, though, I’ve been reflecting on a deeper level of his statement and how it can serve as a guide for the Daily Improviser.

In her wonderful book, Improv Wisdom, Patricia Ryan Madson devotes an entire chapter to a seemingly heretical concept. The chapter is titled: Be Average.

In other words: Stop forcing. Quit trying to be perfect. Don’t always be wildly casting about for something new, different, and “clever,” but instead look at the seemingly mundane world in front of you for something you’ve previously overlooked. As the improv master Keith Johnstone put it: “Dare to be dull!”

If you find yourself constantly straining to achieve this elusive perfection, then it's probably an indication that you’re trying to go against the grain of your natural gifts and strengths. If, on the other hand, you’ve been able to identify and pursue your own unique course, then you should look forward to your task, feel inquisitive and focused while you’re doing it, and feel fulfilled after you’ve completed it. As Marcus Buckingham writes in his book Go Put Your Strengths to Work:

“[When you’re working to your strengths], you actually want to concentrate. When you do, you lose your regular perspective – your third eye looking down at yourself assessing how long things are taking and what you are doing and what other people are thinking and when it will be over – and you become immersed. You are lost in the activity, for a long moment.”

And this, I think, is the deeper message in the Benchley quote:

Find your passion. Put in your long moments of flow. Turn off that judgmental third eye and quit worrying so much about how you’re doing – just do it.

Then look up and greet your public.