Beyond the basement

If you're a superhuman doer, someone who likes to get on and progress, maybe you're prone to slumps? Perhaps you find yourself staring into space, unable to get motivated. It could be that you're overburdened. 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

When we're not sure what's going on, or what to do next, pretending that you do is often enough to nudge in that direction. It can give you and the people around you, the confidence to get started, and make sense of the situation. This is another principle from improvised comedy and drama that can help in life too. We'll be exploring it at the next Leeds improv Co-Lab play session on June 6th. htt...

What does it mean to mess up, get things wrong, or for things to otherwise not quite work out as we'd planned? Happy little accidents is the theme of our next improv Co-lab session in Leeds. Yet there's something for everyone on how we relate to our inevitable mistakes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriske...

The more I coach, the more I think gender isn't a helpful distinction between human beings. Even the terms ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ make me nervous. Here's a deconstruction and (perhaps) a more helpful way of making sense of who we are in the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.co...

This wonderful metaphor for what happens when we don't healthily process our thoughts and feelings, came from a client recently. Sooner or later the drawer will overflow, or worse, burst... 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

Like all humans, us coaches can be messy, fallible contradictions too. Just in case we give the impression we're always living a best life. Would you want it any other way? 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

How do you set realistic, meaningful goals as a perfectionist? How do you prioritise the process over the outcome? Fellow coach and friend Vix Anderton and I talk about imperfect action, reframing goals as something more inspiring, living your goals in the present and more. In this short yet juicy conversation we shared laughter and joy on a topic that can sometimes leave us feeling like failures....

This principle of improv invites us to reveal more of our inner world, to make more of a scene of ourselves. Not just in pursuit of more watchable performance, but so other people know what's going on for us, in life. Why leave it all to guesswork? Play it big. Link to event: bit.ly/improvleeds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonu...

Last night I did a duff improv performance. Rather than languish in pity, here I volunteer the experience, diving into some of the helpful tricks the head and heart play when you're emotionally activated by a tricky situation. 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

This month, Ellie Lloyd-Jones (another big hearted, talented, smart, beautiful coach) and I are taking a bunch of purposeful business folk out into Derbyshire for a half-day of immersive conversation and connection in nature. Here's what hosting NetWalking Leeds (a mini version of this) taught me so far about humans when they give themselves just this. Link to the event, if you're curious to join:...

Right or wrong, good or bad. Does your inner critic run the show; noticing, categorising and criticising? Here's a new way of looking at judgement and being judgemental. It could just be the greatest gift you never knew you had... 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

How this simple principle in improvisation might help us out of a tight spot, when we don't know what to do next. We'll be playing with this theme at improv Co-lab this coming Thursday, my open event for improvisers in Leeds https://www.tickettailor.com/events/chriskenworthy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ch...

Joanne Tremarco's improvised performance of a show by this name inspires Chris, almost to the point of complete emotional dysfunction, late night at the Liverpool improvisation festival. To the point he even gets her name wrong. Here I'm very excited by fooling, a performance technique I did in a workshop earlier in the day with JOANNE This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wi...

Dragons, giants, magic, castles and gophers. This weekend's improv intensive on storytelling and movement had it all. Here comes the feels and reflections on everything that went down. Link to information about Chris Mead, who led the weekend: https://chrismead.co/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenwort...

Today's emergency question that we're playing with, from Richard Herring's book of the same name. Do we instinctively act out of self interest? Are we just animals? Is there such a thing as a truly selfless act? Naturally, you'll discover all the answers to life's big questions, here in a windy park in Leeds. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

Hoot! Yesterday we launched Leeds' first improv Co-lab event. Here's the story of the universe calling me out on an idea through to making a real thing, and everything I learned along the way. 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

Most emotions felt elusive to me, once. Then life went thermonuclear… Here’s what we can learn about a more open way of life. 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

Next Monday I launch my first drop-in improv event. And this is our theme: welcoming everything. I pinched it from my second love, Authentic Relating. But what does it mean? How does welcoming everything make life better? 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

Playing with another of Richard Herring's emergency questions before I write about it on LinkedIn later. Somehow I turned this into an awkward dance around gender inequality, arousal and death - all natural bedfellows. 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

Rest and retreat is a tricky one if you prefer to be doing and getting on with life. Here we explore what it is to take a winter, and deliberately permit yourself a period of slowing down and reflecting. 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

I came face-to-face with anger this weekend. I met what's really going on in us, what we avoid, and the darker side of what drives us. Here's what happened, and what might be happening for you - under all those layers of protection. Reflections from my recent retreat all about personality, trauma and freedom from both. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscrib...

If you aren't your thoughts, which come and go. Who are you? Same with emotions, how you relate to yourself, they change too, right? So who are you? And if you aren't the same person you were when you were younger, yesterday, last year. WHO ARE YOU? Here comes the Enneagram with sweet relief, for existential questions like this... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with ot...

An epic exploration of the quirks, patterns, and character of change. Plus what seems to help the process or make it smoother and more painless. These are collected observations during periods of change in my own life, and those of my coaching clients. 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...

You, the REAL you, are your imagination, apparently. And the best way to meet real you is to push that button, without thinking too much. 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

Emergency questions! Each week we play with a couple of provocations from Richard Herring's book over on LinkedIn. Edgy questions that I improvise responses too. Now I'm mashing it up with this audio blog, to expand the game. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriskenworthy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenw...