Read: Extracts from “Let’s Develop! A guide to continuous personal growth” by Fred Newman, and ‘Performance Breakthrough: A Radical Approach to Success at Work” by Cathy Salit Deliver. A written piece (ca 600-700 words)
Writing prompts:
After reading the material for this week, briefly describe a scenario or context in your own life where you occasionally or often feel “stuck in a role” (the context could be school, family, an intimate relationship, a group of friends, work etc).
Practice seeing this scenario through the lens of performance. What particular behavior, or “performance”, does the role you feel stuck in come with? (examples: “the older sister that always has everything under control”, “the boyfriend who is always available”, “the friend who always laughs at jokes they don’t enjoy”, “the intern that never speaks up” etc).
What are the other roles involved in the context you are describing, and what are their behaviors or performances in relation to you? Are there untold rules for or expectations of each of you? What would you title the “play that you are describing? If you would share a few lines of dialogue from this play, what would they be? (feel free to exaggerate or be creative in your script while maintaining your grounding in an actual situation).
Now imagine a new and more desirable play, with the same “formal roles” and contexts, but transformed performances of each role. What would the new relationships and behaviors be? The new name of the play? What would be a few lines of dialogue from this new script?
Now think of what you would need for the new script and transformed relationships to become a reality. Is it a change you might be able to bring about simply by changing your own performance? Would you need additional support systems or structures?
Sample Solution
