Need your wisdom

[harrietjansson]

So we are sometimes told to get out of our heads and act more on impulses. Many non ASD people are told this as well. I am not sure about ADHD people. I am sure they may not be told this as much as us without it.

I see a big issue here. Acting on impulses seems to be much easier if you know what to do.
I am sure that this thing is good for us but only if done in situatuons in which we have a guide/teacher who can help. I mean, you also need to be taught how to act in a certain situation. Perhaps one does not know how to act in a ceratin situation but are only told to act on impulses. I do think the impulses are important but only as long as they are combined with skills training and done in easier situations.
I think "acting on impulses" is a theatre technique. It can be used outside of theatre training but not in the same way. Perhaps some of us are acting too much on our impulses and that's what create problems for us. But I do see too many shy people, me included (but I do act too much on impulse sometimes I guess).

Is the advice "act on your impulses" bad? Have you ever heard it before? What do you think this means? In theatre training I guess they might assume that body language and prosody are already easy for you.
Another thing is that, in my opinion, "act on impulse!" sometimes means "don't be yourself!".
People often have ideas on how you should act. Has this been a big issue for you?

Impulses

 

[Wolfnox]

Sounds like the just act natural advice.
In my opinion impulse should never be acted on without fore thought. Consider things first. Then act.

 

[Storm Hess]

Making an informed choice is best. "I'm going to drive to the desert and go hiking." "Did you pack your bag for the trip?" "Nah...what's the worse that could happen?"

 

[Darkkin]

Are the terms of improvise and impulsive being used interchangably because, impulsive is rooted in the pyschological aspects of control. Children, teenagers, ADHDers, NDers as a whole, tend to lack impulse control due to lower activity in the prefrontalcortex. It is an impulse to speak up about the problematic context of nonhyperspecific, seemingly interchangable words, that are not, in point of fact, interchangable.

Whereas improvise in essence means going with the flow. In theatre, the arts the form is called improv or improvisation. Robin Williams was a master of improvisation. MacGuyver was also great at improvising clever solutions out of what he had on hand. MacGuyer didn't impulse his way out of a villian's clutches. Han Solo didn't impulse his way off the Death Star.

Where the crux of the difference rests is that improvisation is taking context, one's surroundings, and those around us into account and working with what one has. Think Sparatcus and his army of liberated slaves when the Roman army trapped them on that plateau. Improvising, they used there surroundings and wove ropes using plant fibres that allowed them to climb down and escape.

With an impulse, there is no thought, no unconscious consideration, no making use of what is there. It is giving into an instant urge. I impulsively grabbed a cookie when I went to the kitchen for water. He made an impulsive stop at the casino instead of going to work, etc.

Acting on impulse is wholly reliant on the context specific to any given situation. It is specific to the individuals involved. There is no yes or no answer. If established plans go awry and change is required, weigh the options and improvise.

The impulse to clarify hyperspecific linguistic contexts has a tendency to make me sound pedantic. And there is a reason people talk about impulse control or lack thereof...A majority of the time impulsive acts and/or decisions can have adverse consequences.

As Han told Chewy, 'I don't know! Fly casual.'

 

[Slim Jim]

I act a lot on "impulse." But as a child, I almost never did. Or maybe my memory is faulty. I am both contemplative, and impulsive, if that makes any sense.

Another thing is that, in my opinion, "act on impulse!" sometimes means "don't be yourself!".
People often have ideas on how you should act. Has this been a big issue for you?

The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.

 

[harrietjansson]

Are the terms of improvise and impulsive being used interchangably because, impulsive is rooted in the pyschological aspects of control. Children, teenagers, ADHDers, NDers as a whole, tend to lack impulse control due to lower activity in the prefrontalcortex. It is an impulse to speak up about the problematic context of nonhyperspecific, seemingly interchangable words, that are not, in point of fact, interchangable.

Whereas improvise in essence means going with the flow. In theatre, the arts the form is called improv or improvisation. Robin Williams was a master of improvisation. MacGuyver was also great at improvising clever solutions out of what he had on hand. MacGuyer didn't impulse his way out of a villian's clutches. Han Solo didn't impulse his way off the Death Star.

Where the crux of the difference rests is that improvisation is taking context, one's surroundings, and those around us into account and working with what one has. Think Sparatcus and his army of liberated slaves when the Roman army trapped them on that plateau. Improvising, they used there surroundings and wove ropes using plant fibres that allowed them to climb down and escape.

With an impulse, there is no thought, no unconscious consideration, no making use of what is there. It is giving into an instant urge. I impulsively grabbed a cookie when I went to the kitchen for water. He made an impulsive stop at the casino instead of going to work, etc.

Acting on impulse is wholly reliant on the context specific to any given situation. It is specific to the individuals involved. There is no yes or no answer. If established plans go awry and change is required, weigh the options and improvise.

The impulse to clarify hyperspecific linguistic contexts has a tendency to make me sound pedantic. And there is a reason people talk about impulse control or lack thereof...A majority of the time impulsive acts and/or decisions can have adverse consequences.

As Han told Chewy, 'I don't know! Fly casual.'

I don't know if acting on impulse and improvising are really that different. If you do ot act on impulse when creating something you are composing, right? I think what people often refer to when they talk about improv is a person who have the skills and no what he/she is doing. When you act on impulse you don't always know what you are doing. What do you think?

Actually, I see people with ASD holding back their impulses alot...I am reminded of "walking on egg shells". We can be afraid of letting go and trusting our impulses. Instead of justtelling us to just act I would want people to tell us what to do.

 

[harrietjansson]

Sounds like the just act natural advice.
In my opinion impulse should never be acted on without fore thought. Consider things first. Then act.

So Meisner technique is bad then?

 

[Darkkin]

I don't know if acting on impulse and improvising are really that different. If you do ot act on impulse when creating something you are composing, right? I think what people often refer to when they talk about improv is a person who have the skills and no what he/she is doing. When you act on impulse you don't always know what you are doing. What do you think?

Actually, I see people with ASD holding back their impulses alot...I am reminded of "walking on egg shells". We can be afraid of letting go and trusting our impulses. Instead of justtelling us to just act I would want people to tell us what to do.

I was hyperspecific with my context. The words are similar, yes, but not identical as illustrated. I trust others as far as I can toss them.

Will I trust my instincts and help a kid who looks like they've been separated from a parent? Yes. Will I offer to help a friend move. Yes. Because these are INSTANTANEOUS decisions, wherein rests the differentiation of the terms. Impulse is micro, e.g. (one detail), improvise is macro, e.g. (the social situation as a whole).

2.8% of the US population is autistic. 97.2% is allistic. We mask. We have to in order to survive, but it doesn't leave us helpless.

If you need specifics, ask out right. Plain and simple. If I don't understand I make a point to clarify my confusion. I've found that it makes people stop and think, thusly deerchecking impulse.

 

[harrietjansson]

I was hyperspecific with my context. The words are similar, yes, but not identical as illustrated. I trust others as far as I can toss them.

Will I trust my instincts and help a kid who looks like they've been separated from a parent? Yes. Will I offer to help a friend move. Yes. Because these are INSTANTANEOUS decisions, wherein rests the differentiation of the terms. Impulse is micro, e.g. (one detail), improvise is macro, e.g. (the social situation as a whole).

2.8% of the US population is autistic. 97.2% is allistic. We mask. We have to in order to survive.

So if a musician act on impulse it is more about just playing a note in one specific momement whereas if he/she improvises it might be something that is done for eg sixteen bars?
I think I understand what you are saying.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

So we are sometimes told to get out of our heads and act more on impulses. Many non ASD people are told this as well. I am not sure about ADHD people. I am sure they may not be told this as much as us without it.

I see a big issue here. Acting on impulses seems to be much easier if you know what to do.
I am sure that this thing is good for us but only if done in situatuons in which we have a guide/teacher who can help. I mean, you also need to be taught how to act in a certain situation. Perhaps one does not know how to act in a ceratin situation but are only told to act on impulses. I do think the impulses are important but only as long as they are combined with skills training and done in easier situations.
I think "acting on impulses" is a theatre technique. It can be used outside of theatre training but not in the same way. Perhaps some of us are acting too much on our impulses and that's what create problems for us. But I do see too many shy people, me included (but I do act too much on impulse sometimes I guess).

Is the advice "act on your impulses" bad? Have you ever heard it before? What do you think this means? In theatre training I guess they might assume that body language and prosody are already easy for you.
Another thing is that, in my opinion, "act on impulse!" sometimes means "don't be yourself!".
People often have ideas on how you should act. Has this been a big issue for you?

Impulses

There is a time to be impulsive and a time not to. Impulsiveness, is often filtered through the emotional centers,...not the logic centers. This is not to be confused with instincts, or reactions due to high-level training and conditioning (martial artists, for example). Sometimes impulsiveness can be fun and entertaining, provided that there are not significant consequences should something go wrong with your decision making. On the other hand, if there are significant consequences if something should go wrong with your decision making,...obviously, it's best to pause and analyze the situation before reacting.

If you are young and inexperienced in these sorts of decisions, then sometimes these lead to what we call "life lessons",...bad things can happen. Wisdom is a combination of knowledge, experience, and mistakes,...and often we humans do not develop wisdom until a sufficient amount of mistakes have been made.

 

[Wolfnox]

So Meisner technique is bad then?

Do you consider it to be? Or would you act on it before doing so?

 

[Atrapa Almas]

Impulsive people will recomend you to act on impulses.

Reflexive people will recomend you to act reflexively.

Eagles will tell you to trust the wind.

A fish will tell you to follow the currents.

A traveler will tell you to travel to open your mind.

A book reader will recomend you to read a book to learn something.

If you think on the deccisions you made succesfully... How was your way to make such deccisions?

Are you an eagle, a fish, a turtle? You must find your own way since you are different to the people who are trying to show you their ways.

Best of luck.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Acting on impulse in an emotional way would frequently get me in trouble or lead to a waste of my time. I have had to put a step in to think before acting. On the other hand, in canoeing a rapid, one must improvise within a general plan. One may scout a rapid, but down at water level things start to look different. On the Grey's river on the East side of the Tetons, many rapids could be scouted, but one could not. Coming around a corner and seeing nothing but white foam and a quick assessment for improvisation is needed, not being impulsive before judging the hazards.

(added) So much also seems like reflex, but it is improv. On the nearby Gallatin river, I was side surfing a hole below a drop and a kayaker landed on my rear. That resulted in the rear of my canoe diving to the bottom and me going vertical. The only thing I could do was keep my balance and prepare to brace. My canoe popped up vertically and I managed to control it. Phew! That put a crease in the rear of my boat, the forces were that hard.

 

[Fino]

I very often get myself into trouble by acting on impulse but don't seem to be slowing down any time soon.

 

[Hypnalis]

@harrietjansson

I read the page you linked, but as an ND reading NT text - i.e. where it's not immediately clear, I look at the context.

This text suggests it's about the class, not the student's entire life:
An impulse is a response to an outside stimulus. In Meisner, this is usually our partner in the exercise. Most crucially, it doesn't come from you, ....

Given that it's about acting, I suspect they're trying to teach you to display your natural emotional state in response to an external stimulus - i.e. I think it's a technique for reacting realistically.

A scenario: imagine you're on a stage, the other actor smiles (but it's not actually for you, it's for the audience), and your role requires that you smile back. Some kind of "friendly face" is a natural response to someone else's friendly face, so it would be useful to just let it happen, or perhaps (e.g. on stage) exaggerate it.

But what about IRL? The same friendly signal might come from an unwelcome source. NT's filter their natural response based on a snap (very fast) assessment of the local context.

This is a useful "survival mechanism" IRL, but I think Meisner want you to be able to turn it off when you're acting.
FWIW, given that they have a web page on the topic I'd expect there to be exercises in the class that either support or refute my theory.

 

[SusanLR]

Acting on emotional impulses would certainly get me into trouble a lot.
If I blurted out the instant thought that someone or something created it could definitely be
insulting > leading to an argument > or it could get physical which most certainly can lead
to trouble.
So a quick analysis of the emotion and thought is needed to neurtralize the moment.

Something that elicits a positive emotional response in me has never caused a problem
when saying something impulsive and positive in return.

Then there are the event impulses that also need quick logic or it can lead to trouble.
I've always been good at those.
Example: I can't stand spiders. Something about them just gives me the chills to see
let alone have one on me.
While watering plants and cleaning around outside one day, I felt something crawling up the back
of my calf.
I looked and it was a Black Widow. Impulse would be scream, knock at it. Not a good impulse.
Instant logic was I'm spraying water. It's a strong force. Spray spider and it would
be knocked off leg before it had a chance to bite.

Emotions can be strong and cause acts that aren't logical.
Think of seeing how a horse might balk and rear if it saw a snake and the rider falls off.
Emotional impulse.
Grab the emotion and make a quick decision that is logical.
Otherwise you might have to pay a price that is not worth it.

 

[harrietjansson]

@harrietjansson

I read the page you linked, but as an ND reading NT text - i.e. where it's not immediately clear, I look at the context.

This text suggests it's about the class, not the student's entire life:
An impulse is a response to an outside stimulus. In Meisner, this is usually our partner in the exercise. Most crucially, it doesn't come from you, ....

Given that it's about acting, I suspect they're trying to teach you to display your natural emotional state in response to an external stimulus - i.e. I think it's a technique for reacting realistically.

A scenario: imagine you're on a stage, the other actor smiles (but it's not actually for you, it's for the audience), and you're role requires that you smile back. Some kind of "friendly face" is a natural response to someone else's friendly face, so it would be useful to just let it happen, or perhaps (e.g. on stage) exaggerate it.

But what about IRL? The same friendly signal might come from an unwelcome source. NT's filter their natural response based on a snap (very fast) assessment of the local context.

This is a useful "survival mechanism" IRL, but I think Meisner want you to be able to turn it off which you're acting.
FWIW, given that they have a web page on the topic I'd expect there to be exercises in the class that either support or refute my theory.

I think that what you wrote sounds good. It may well be like that.
But there is one thing that worries me a lot. What can "get out of your head!" refer to? It can refer to "you already have the skills so don't be afraid to let go and just act!".
Do we really have the skills? Perhaps the people with NT can skip focusing in the skills and just act?
I have experienced this in both theatre and dance class. I should say that it's not always like that and many NT people don't like skipping focusing on the skills at first and just act/do the thing.
What I think is happening with theatre is that some people assume that you just take all your skills from social situations and take them in to the stage. I dislike this method. This makes theatre more therapy than theatre. There are theatre classes with a teacher who is both a therapist and actor coach who are expert on ASD. I saw it on tv.
I took a theatre class and they told me that no previous skills were needed. They lied to me! We needed a lot of skills. When people say "no previous skills needed" they are often lying to you. It's more of a way to get people to come to the lessons/course, I guess. Or they are stupid enough to believe that it is true!

But one thing that to me is extremely important is this: dealing with body language and prosody on a theatre stage is not the same as dealing with it in daily social life.
I think many theatre coaches (or whatever the correct term is) are confused and see them as kind of the same. To me they are different even if they have their similarities. What do you think?
I was told some days ago by a person with ASD that we have difficult with theatrical body language due to our ASD issues. But I am not so sure. I think we can actually be better at it than people with NT issues.
I am not even sure if we are always that bad at body language and prosody in daily social life. I guess it depends on the situation.

 

[Hypnalis]

I didn't find the text in italics below in your post. It is from the Meisner class (or an earlier class)?

What can "get out of your head!" refer to? It can refer to "you already have the skills so don't be afraid to let go and just act!".​

I think the "no previous skills required" claim assumes you're NT (it might well be true for NTs). I think the part of the Meisner class we discussed (about impulses) makes the same assumption.
FWIW I don't agree that they're lying to you - it looks like a typical NT/ND miscommunication. The obvious reason for this seems to be a bit controversial here so I won't discuss it.

There was a post here a few weeks ago that you might find useful (if you can find it). It listed the 4 ND+NT cases and whether the pairs communicate well or not:

1. Generally ok communication: NT-NT and ND-ND
2. Generally nok communication: NT-ND and ND-NT

Whether they lied to you or innocently misinformed you depends on something that happened twice as per item 2 above.

 

[harrietjansson]

I didn't find the text in italics below in your post. It is from the Meisner class (or an earlier class)?

What can "get out of your head!" refer to? It can refer to "you already have the skills so don't be afraid to let go and just act!".​

I think the "no previous skills required" claim assumes you're NT (it might well be true for NTs). I think the part of the Meisner class we discussed (about impulses) makes the same assumption.
FWIW I don't agree that they're lying to you - it looks like a typical NT/ND miscommunication. The obvious reason for this seems to be a bit controversial here so I won't discuss it.

There was a post here a few weeks ago that you might find useful (if you can find it). It listed the 4 ND+NT cases and whether the pairs communicate well or not:

1. Generally ok communication: NT-NT and ND-ND
2. Generally nok communication: NT-ND and ND-NT

Whether they lied to you or innocently misinformed you depends on something that happened twice as per item 2 above.

controversial?

Can't it just be that people have different goals? I have my goals but most other people want something else? People are often unclear about what goals they have. If I take an acting/theatre class I may want something else than they. Acting nowadays is a lot about exposure rather than something else. Exposure refers to just be yourself with all you have and don't try to act. Just be yourself.
Perhaps many NT people don't care about having a scenic personality. I try to see a big difference between my scenic personality (be it music, acting or whatever) and my non-scenic normal personality. NT people usually don't care about this as much?

 

[Nervous Rex]

Is the advice "act on your impulses" bad?

For me, it depends very much on the context.

In social situations, I absolutely can not trust my first impulse. There are too many subtleties and there too much unknown background information. I have a mental list of safe actions and good rules to follow to avoid sticking my foot in my mouth or offending people.

In technical areas, such as math, programming, and the like, I can often "feel" the right answer before I can prove that it's right. In that, I trust my first impulse.