Driving, Flexing, and Staying in "The Now!"

In recent posts, I’ve described the “looked but did not see” syndrome that commonly affects people when they get behind the wheel of a car – or, for that matter, when they do anything else during their daily routine.

You can relate the “looked but did not see” syndrome to the improv model I created and previously described – ExploreFlexSupport (with The Now! and The Wow!). Using this model, you can see that the tendency to let assumptions, expectations, and distractions come between you and what’s in front of you can be overcome particularly by applying “Flex” skills and attitudes and by attending to “The Now!”

All five elements of the model really work seamlessly together, but I think that “Flex” and “The Now” are especially interrelated. How, for example, can you empty your mind of preconceived notions and truly consider what that person across the table is saying (“Flex”) if you’re not fully present and truly attending to her (“The Now”)? As Patricia Ryan Madson says in her book Improv Wisdom:

"The improviser's lifeline is his attention. Those on stage often appear clever simply because they have been paying attention to what has been said and remember it when most of the audience has forgotten. This is the real magic of the art of improv."