| Some of you know that I am a comedian and in my spare time, and that I do spend quite a bit of time haning out at comedy clubs. Last sunday was no exception and it lead me to some interesting thoughts about choices and how we recieve negativity.
-----------------------------
Comedy is a great thing, and it's at it's best when it's tucked away in small little bars, becuase there is less pressure to be "politically correct" and the culture is alot tighter, this promotes such a great character.
See the thing is if you hang out at any comedy club long enough, at some point a comedian is going to pick you out and play with you for a while, and hopefully by the time your ticket is up, you've seen enough shows and learnt how to deal with that and just laugh it off.
We had a girl and a guy in this sunday, who walked out, they sat in the front row, and betrayed their comedy virginity when they were shocked that they started being the butt of jokes through the night. Both of them spent the night looking glum and sour whenever a reference was made to them (note: No comedian sets out to make the experience of being picked on uncomfortable, but if you react badly, it's like giving the comic a button that says "do not press") and as a result the night pushed on, and again, they had the piss ripped out of them. Then the next act would come on, and similarly 5 minutes in would be digging at those two poor people.
Eventually they reached breaking point and walked out.
The thing with the underground comedy scene is that when people walk out. Nobody EVER has any sympathy for them. They just think "pfft, why the fuck did they come here if they can't take a joke?"
Within a couple of minutes any drama that came about is quickly turned into a banter filled discussion during the break.
However, one person we also noticed, was an england football shirt wearer, england had lost that day at the world cup. And our england shirt wearer, was in Aberdeen Scotland.
That's one shitty situation to be in at a comedy club.
This guy took the worst beating I have ever witnessed over those 4 hours. And sometimes he didn't enjoy it, but he stuck around. He was even drinking with some of us afterwards.
We liked him, and we respected him for sticking around.
---------
Dealing with negativity is vital to learning PU. And over-coming moments of self doubt and heart crushing rejection is vital to pushing through and getting good.
-----------
When you have a bad night, or a set rough set that really does mess with your self esteem for some reason, it's worth remembering.
You can choose to walk out, and nobody will have any sympathy for you.
Or you can stay, and regardless of what the world throws you now, it will one day respect you.
|