Jānis Skutelis reveals his life's biggest regret – giving up too quickly
In the 360TV show “Celebrities. Unfiltered,” comedian Jānis Skutelis admits his lifelong problem has been abandoning projects too hastily instead of looking for ways to keep them going.
In an episode of the 360TV show “Celebrities. Unfiltered,” actor Andris Bulis visited improviser and comedian Jānis Skutelis to get to know him beyond the stage and his comedy work. Asked what he would have done differently in life, Skutelis admitted that one of his recurring problems has been quitting projects too quickly.
The comedian explained that he tends toward what he calls “burning bridges” – once he decides to stop something, he ends it completely and irreversibly. Looking back from today's perspective, however, Skutelis says not all of those decisions were actually necessary.
The “Midnight Show” example
One example he gives is the “Midnight Show,” which he used to host. According to Skutelis, the program was fairly popular and of good quality, but at some point he grew tired of hosting and producing it, so the project was shut down entirely. Looking back, he now believes he didn't need to abandon the show completely. He could have found someone to replace him on screen and kept overseeing the project from behind the scenes, since he understood well how it worked and what was needed to keep it running.
A similar pattern in improv theatre
Skutelis said he had a similar experience with improvisational theatre. At one point he decided that the improv work needed to reach a certain quality level he had envisioned, but when the rest of the group didn't follow that standard, he chose to end the project altogether.
Today, Skutelis views such situations differently. He acknowledges that in some cases it would have been more valuable not to stop everything, but instead to keep going and look for other ways to solve the problems that arose.
