Beyond the basement

Beyond the basement

By Chris KenworthyComedyEducationSelf-ImprovementImprov
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Beyond the basement episodes

  • Follow the fun
    One of my favourite improv principles, and one those of us with a tendency to pragmatism and practicality, would do well to remember. This one's all about gravitating towards that which makes life worth living, when we're faced with choices about what to do next and how to do it.

    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
    9 min
  • Trapped in a tent with your inner child and judge
    There are competing urges in each of us - motivations, needs, pulling us in different directions. Most of the time, we don't notice. Sometimes, it's like having your mind torn apart by all out warfare. Here's some reflections from a recent experience of mine, and some discoveries about how loneliness, connection and expectations play into all this.
    Links:
    Podcast on loneliness: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vd2NkaHQ/episode/ZDgxYWEyNWMtMmE1OS0xMWVkLWIxYTYtODMwOGEyOWUyY2Jl?ep=14
    The inimitable Anya Pearse: https://www.anyapearse.com/
    16 min
  • Recipe for a deeply unfulfilling day
    When you're neither in nor out on the day ahead, it's possible to kind of halfheartedly do all the things, instead of committing your attention to one thing deserving of it, or checking out altogether because you need some R&R.

    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
    14 min
  • Please can we talk about the inner critic?
    It could be a faceless voice, all cynical and nit-picky about everything that’s wrong. Maybe it’s a fully fleshed out character in your mind’s eye - a haughty, enthroned judge sat above everyone and everything, passing its uninvited verdicts.

    Do you have one? Or two? Three?

    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
    14 min
  • Cave Mondays
    Some days, events, arbitrary points in time come with emotional baggage. For me it's Mondays, a heaviness, a melancholic sigh, and the dread of expectation. Which is totally at odds with reality. This one's all about the emotional undercurrents that, if we're not aware of, can rule us. Here's how I'm working with Mondays, after years of resistance.

    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
    15 min
  • Knowing when to quit
    When a DIY job begins to turn sour, Chris gets his 1000th lesson in knowing when to back away because he's hungry/angry/lonely/tired. This one's all about feeling into our tendency to get swept along with the relentless, forward motion of productivity.

    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
    15 min
  • Relentlessness & 'experiential fatigue'
    I've landed home after ALL the adventures during June and July. Yet fun and joy and can bleed into one long conveyor belt of stuff coming at you, much like the obligations and responsibilities of day-to-day life. Even when you're supposed to be having fun, it can be tricky to savour the here-and-now.

    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
    14 min
  • What the world needs more of
    Love? Kindness? Hugs? Well they'd certainly help but I think there's a more pragmatic option too - human connection. What does that even mean though? And how do you get more of it when so much seems to get in 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
    17 min
  • Procrastination Vs your instincts
    "When we fail to prioritise the things we should, it is often because the dominant instinct takes more than its fair share." - this quote from Cicci Lyckow Bäckman might just explain why we sometimes avoid or distract ourselves from getting round to those things we should do, and would probably enjoy doing or which would make our lives easier. But what are our core instinctive drives? What is going on? Join me on a wander through the countryside as I too try to make sense of this perennial human problem.

    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
    16 min
  • Why can't I enjoy the here and now?
    Here's a timeless struggle I hear in coaching - what gets in the way of just being content with the way things are instead of feeling tense and irritated by it (or how things COULD be different). Join me on a ramble through the French countryside as we ponder the paradoxes of the human condition. How tres Français.

    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
    22 min

About Beyond the basement

From the publisher's feed

Join Chris for unscripted reflections on the wild, tender and playful experience of being human. Each episode is like an intimate voice-note to you, with lively insight from the edge of discovery. People say you’ll recognise yourself in these adventures and encounters. And hear clarity, perspective and truth - with deep appreciation for life’s messy magic as it’s really lived through your body.