Could I Fast Forward Through the Show That Is Your Life?

If your life was a TV show, would it be like American Idol? I hope not. Read on to see why…

I’ll admit it, I have gotten sucked into the ratings juggernaut known as American Idol. I have even written blog posts about the show ( like here, for example).

But as I think back over my years of watching the show I realize that I almost never watch the show live. The reason I never watch it live is that when I watch it off my DVR I don’t need to sit through all the fluff and can forward through huge chunks of the show. (If you are wondering, no, I have never voted. That’s the only way I can watch and still look at myself in the morning)

I have sometimes gotten through an entire two hour episode of Idol in about 20 minutes. How, you ask? Here’s the fluff I cut:

• Commercials obviously get skipped
• The “human interest” videos before they perform is useless
• If the guest mentor is boring, the whole section gets skipped. If it’s someone cool I’ll watch some, but usually not all of that
• I usually don’t watch the entire performance. Lots of times I don’t like the song, and quite often the performance is kind of boring. I’ll give it 10-20 seconds to grab me, and if it doesn’t I skip to the end to see the “big finish”
• The judges…ah the judges…I range anywhere from skipping straight to Simon to at least giving each judge a chance to say something intelligent before hitting the forward button.
• Then there’s all the Seacrest fluff. Skip! (Although I will say, as popular as it is to bash him, I actually like Seacrest as a host. I think he does a nice job, and sometimes his banter with the contestants and Simon is the most interesting part of the show…)

There you go. That is how you watch a 2-hour show in 20 minutes.

At this point you may be wondering why I watch the show or whether I even like it. Well I do like it. And I watch it because I am very curious about the contestants and the results, and once in a while I see a performance I love. I have even become a Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson fan (shut up, she’s good…)

You may also be wondering if there are shows I actually do watch in their entirety, or if I just skim everything. As a matter of fact, there are shows I fully watch. Lost, 24, and The Office are three shows I devote 100% of my attention to and watch attentively from start to finish.

To me, American Idol is a show that has a few great moments and that I am curious to see the outcome of. The other programs are shows that I pay fill attention to.

What does this have to do with you?

Well, this got me thinking: if my life was a show, which one of these categories would it fall into? Is my life interesting enough to be paid attention to everyday in everything I do? Or is it made up of the occasional great moment and the rest is just waiting around to see how it all turns out.

I’m not saying that every second of every day needs to be some over the top huge activity. Periods of rest, relaxation, and just doing nothing are awesome and necessary. But when it comes down to it, would you rather build a life that people would pay rapt attention to or one where people would want to skim through most of it? If you don’t care about what others think (not a bad strategy) then would you rather build a life that you would pay rapt attention to or one where you would want to skim through most of it?

Take a second to think about the life you are building for yourself. Does it have the level of “watchability” you’d like? If not, what can you do this week to change that?

Whatever level of watchability you pick is fine. If you want a skimmable life, that’s cool. If not, take action now. Only you know whether you’re happy with what you’re doing…

The one thing I know for sure, if my life was a TV show, those two hours – or twenty minutes – I spend watching American Idol would definitely be parts I would forward right on past…

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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