Beyond the basement

Here's how to tell if your beautiful mind isn't serving you as well as it could be at the moment. We'll explore five common symptoms of 'being up in your head' as we call it in improv - not enjoying the here-and-now, feeling fatigued and fed-up, like you don't know, zoned out or dwelling on the past/future. There's hope here too, as we explore antidotes and ways to break the cycle of excess thinki...

Here's what happens when we put a little effort into feeling good about where we are and who we're with. These are my reflections from a recent Leeds improv Co-Lab play session I hosted, exploring these ideas to see how they improve our performance and free up our natural potential. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,...

Before, during and after a tricky experience - how do you support yourself, if at all? When the panic, fear, shame, anger arrives, do you distract yourself or sit with it? Or like many people I expect do you just accept mild traumatizing as part of the deal you didn't sign up for when you were born? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

I hear this phrase a LOT in the change work I do with individuals. People usually say it when we come up against the very value or belief you have that's at the root of some behaviour that's unhelpful, holding you back or otherwise not serving you any more. It's a denial of the very thing that defines you as a human - your ability to learn, cope and adapt. This is a public episode. If you would li...

What links a chilly dawn swim and improv? Let's find out shall we... I've just emerged from a very cold lake. I can barely feel my hands. Yet my still frozen body has all manner of juicy reflections for you from yesterday's big workshop, about finding calm in your body, landing in the here-and-now, when you're a bit panicked, stressed or distracted. This is a public episode. If you would like to d...

Chris gets spooked at the dentist, feels a bit sensitive, then talks all about how we might all do well to become better listeners and communicators alongside each other. Instead of fixers and solvers. Sure, we need both. But mainly more of the former, I reckon. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy....

Ever had one of these? After a big event, a risk taken, a tough conversation or being in front of a group. You get a sort of fragile, sad, hyper-sensitive feeling in the hours or days afterwards that's difficult to place. Here's what could be going on. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.c...

It's another lesson I'm doomed to learn over and over again, or people like me. This week it's seeing things as either wholly bad/wrong or wholly good/right, with no room for the colourful nuance in between. Because that's where the richness of life is. And things are rarely either/or. Life is full of paradox, two seemingly opposing truths both being equally valid - like I'm excited AND I'm scared...

A quick reflection on how last night's play session at Leeds Improv Co-Lab went. It was all about feeling into the here-and-now, and noticing who's right alongside us. Basically feeling safe and comfortable enough to have a jolly nice time. This is a stepping stone towards offering a more immersive, day-long workshop all about this thing I care about and have struggled with myself sometimes - not...

I'd never heard of this improv principle until a recent workshop. Here I'm puzzling how it might help when it comes to uncertainty, and being vulnerable about what we don't know in the face of new challenges. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

A quick explanation and apology for why you might have noticed guests appearing in episodes, when you thought it was just you and I playing here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

Two (mis)adventures in stand-up comedy for you here: what, how and why it went disastrously wrong for me. But also what, how and why it goes really well. Juicy learnz here for anyone who performs or speaks in public, or just wants to be more open and available with family, friends and colleagues. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo...

Marianne Powell and I play with authenticity - really being you in the here-and-now. To me this seems to have become one of those highly-desired, yet elusive states like happiness - the more we chase it, the harder it is to feel. What even is it though? How does it happen and why does it matter? Marianne is my friend, a purpose guide and therapist, as well as a singer songwriter. This is a public...

When you get going it's really hard to stop, especially on focused tasks you enjoy. For me it's DIY. And the lesson I'm doomed to repeat here is not stopping and putting healthy boundaries on what enough looks like. I didn't get much sleep last night because of all yesterday's doing. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,...

Just running an idea by you, if that's ok? I'm cooking up a new product - a special workshop to help you enjoy the here-and-now more. It'll be lots of fun. Just wondering how it lands and if you want to be a part of this. Find out more at chriskenworthy.co.uk/authentic-improv/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...

Another lesson some of us are doomed to learn over and over again. This time it's about procrastinating, avoiding doing or otherwise being perennially indecisive about that thing you keep putting off. And how we keep forgetting how satisfying and easy (or at least nowhere-near-as-hard as you feared it would be), it was once you've done it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss thi...

Are you one of those people affected by the weather? Does it seem like your mood tracks the sky? Chris is ranting at the clouds for his melancholy, wanting the grey damp duvet above to be anything other than what it is. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

My friend and fellow coach Ellie and I explore what goes on for us 'usually productive doers' when we're feeling under the weather. We talk about how to manage our energy levels, moods and motivation. How hard it can be slowing down, and why reflection and retreat isn't a frivolous luxury. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epi...

Anything worthwhile should be HARD WORK and worth SUFFERING for, right? And you must PUSH FORWARDS with urgency to get there. I’m beginning to wonder how helpful these beliefs are. And whether the opposite is true - the gentler you are with yourself, the more life unfolds in an agreeable way. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...

A strong, evocative emotional experience can leave a residue in your system, one that lingers and is tricky to get through. Some reflections here on elation, grief, sadness and hope in the aftermath of Happy Start-up School's Summercamp. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

Chris is angry at his sat nav in a service station car park and decides to improvise a live experiment in the theory that the only way out with strong emotions is through. What will we learn? Trigger warning: loud vitriolic ranting. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

If my experience at Happy Start-up School's Summercamp this year were a film, this would be the title. My reflections on how I spent three days in the sticks, playing with other business hippies. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

What turns you on? No not like that... I'm talking about our instinctual drives: social, sexual and self-preservation. How they play us, if we don't know what they're up to, and how to become more aware of them. This monologue is about the one-to-one aka sexual instinct in particular - creativity and desire. In this episode I'll challenge a few stereotypes and hopefully put you back in touch with...

I suppose you could call this a talking meditation, a kindly lament on what it is to be a fallible human, when things don't go well. While at the same time remembering that's what makes you an inherently good human being. One way to look at this is through the lens of this dignity and humility from Authentic Relating - the art of being human. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss...

If you don't get out the house, are you a bit like a dog who hasn't been walked? Climbing the walls. Going out of your mind. If so, you could be like Ellie and I, for whom movement, nature and connection with other people is a necessity. Ellie is my friend and a fellow coach. Together we're running a series of immersive Co-Walking events to help people like us get a more rich and meaningful experi...