We all screw up way more often than we'd like to admit. In fact, research shows humans get things wrong a whopping 70-80% of the time. We're essentially stumbling through life, hoping to nail that narrow 20-30% window where we look like we know what we're doing.

But instead of beating ourselves up over our inevitable flops, we could take a page from the improv comedy masters. Those quirky theater nerds (said lovingly) have turned making mistakes into a celebrated art form.

Think about it – improvisers willingly take the stage without a script, prop, or plan, letting the unpredictable chaos and inevitable errors shape the show. While many would likely freeze up or plow through in sheer panic, they've mastered spinning the mistakes into hilarious and insightful new directions nobody could predict (not even them).

Embracing failure is a continuous practice requiring discipline. As Kelly Leonard of Second City Improv Theater puts it, "When we're improvising on stage, and someone makes a mistake, that could be an opening. That could be a really intriguing place to take the story that we didn't think about before.” If we’re too afraid to fail, we’re closing ourselves off to the opportunities that come from learning from those failures.

Of course, embodying that free-spirited, fear-conquering mindset takes consistent practice, just like building any skill. It requires feeling at home amidst the discomfort and turning anxiety into excitement over inevitable surprises. Cultivating a sense of insatiable curiosity about your missteps, rather than hopeless self-criticism.

Can you imagine how liberated you'd feel if you could lean into that mindset more often? How much more fearless you'd be in chasing big creative swings and unconventional ideas, freed from the paralyzing pressures of perfection? 

Becoming friends with our failure starts with humility. Recognizing the certainty of mistakes upfront allows you to communicate and collaborate without ego or assumptions. Kelly believes that if we constantly remembered our fallibility, we'd approach problems with more openness and curiosity. "You have to see all obstacles as gifts," he says.

This practice isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. It’s like deciding to start going to the gym to build muscle. You don’t just go once, and that’s it. You must show up consistently and keep at it, and eventually, it gets easier and becomes a habit. 

Next time you stumble spectacularly, resist the urge to curl up in shame. Instead, try saying "Yes, and...let's see where this wild new road leads." You may just open the door to unexpected opportunities your mind could have never imagined before. 

Fail often, fail early, and fail without fear. View each failure as input that gets you closer to a brilliant idea. Maintain the courage to keep creating, keep stumbling, and keep participating in innovation. Leonard proves that comedy and business both thrive on trial and error — so learn to love and leverage your mistakes. You never know when you could have the opportunity to learn something from them.

If you’re ready to learn more about what improv can teach you about fear and failure, don’t miss the rest of our interview with Kelly Leonard on the Question Everything podcast here.

And to get even more behind-the-scenes improv goodness, check out part 2 of Kelly’s interview here.