This is an attitude that I first heard at an improvisation workshop run by the great American improviser Jill Bernard.

What does that mean?

Stage improvisation is an art that can be learned. It is based on certain principles and attitudes that can be practiced and strengthen, like mental muscles. When we start our adventure with improvisation and experience our first performances on stage, we are, on the one hand, terrified (“What? And all that without preparation, without dialogues, characters, all the time in uncertainty????”), and on the other hand, we are filled with incredible joy and excitement (“It’s really happening, and it works for us! It's cool! Ooooh, it's so great and funny!”). Essentially, we're enjoying it and we're very happy about it.

The more we get into it, the more confident we become, so we want to do it better, more efficiently, without making any mistakes... Yes, this is the moment when we start to let pressure, perfectionism, judgement of ourselves and others come into play. It is a paradox, because in improvisation we constantly learn not to judge, not to focus on mistakes - because they may turn out to be gifts and move the action in a completely surprising, extremely inspiring direction. Forgetting about it, we lose the original joy of free creating together, and we fall too deep into the pit of expectation and self-flagellation that we are not the way we should be.

Exactly... the way we should be.

And yet we are enough, you are enough, I am enough - the way I am in this moment of my life, experience, feeling and mood. This is the essence of this attitude, which assumes drawing from myself during improvisation and accepting who I am and how I feel, also on this particular day. I take what I currently have and with attention, trust in my own skills and good intention I do with it what I can. Without judging or punishing myself for not reaching the expectation bar of my possible perfect image.

It is also an attitude, a mindset that can be translated into life as a whole. All the more when we are being hit by the crisis. All the more now, in a pandemic of uncertainty.

So, remember, you are enough.

And if it is difficult for you now, you are full of emotions, you feel worse, you are not tuning in at the moment - it is normal, you have a right to feel this way. The world has thrown you into a new situation, limited your activities and if you don't work in the front line of services, it has locked you up mainly at home - alone or with loved ones, both options can be frustrating in large doses ;)

Give yourself sensitivity, understanding, meet with these emotions and give them a place without suppression. Naming your emotions and embracing them with conscious attention helps. It is sometimes enough for the body (and mind) to produce alternatives, solutions and more supportive feelings. Especially when we know what approach and thoughts are supporting us.

And if you feel that it is very difficult - you are enough to ask for help. Family, a friend, acquaintance, therapist, coach. There are many possibilities, and that doesn't mean that there is "something wrong with you". These are just opportunities for you to act and go for solutions.

You are enough.