A dear friend of mine scared the bejeezus out of her friends and family last Tuesday night. Her husband was wracked with nerves. Her closest buddies from high school were on the edge of their seat in nail-biting position. I, who was really more excited than scared, felt butterflies.
What caused all the commotion?
My friend — a mother of two, a wife, a professional in the academic world who has the word Director on her business cards — walked onto the stage at Comedy Caravan to perform her very first stand-up routine.
Our nervous anxiety lasted the first five seconds of her set. We held our breath until she hit her first joke out of the park (club?) and kept them coming with few pauses in-between. She nailed it. Her routine was more than funny. It was smart. It was original. Even better, it was stronger than most all of the other comedians-both first-timers and some old-schoolers who had taken the stage many times before.
The lesson my friend reinforced that night was something you can’t go through life without. The lesson of pushing your limits, getting out of your comfort zone, and doing something every now and again that scares you like nothing else. The bigger risk you take and the more you put yourself out there, the greater the reward.
I’ve tried my best to practice this lesson over the years, but it’s easy-and safer-to avoid. I found out Tuesday night that there is no better reminder than having someone demonstrate this lesson for you in the light of day (or, better, the dark of a comedy club).
After my friend brought the entire room to deep belly-laughs, she was aglow. There was no denying that her act of courage resulted in an immediate positive effect to her overall well-being. The continued results are still to be determined.
Many, many months ago, I started a blog to nurture and grow my writing voice. My goal was to write something once a day for a year straight. Through most of the first year, I shied away from politics and kept my political beliefs unwritten. Imagine me hesitant to write about politics-that’s a little like Glenn Beck avoiding over-the-top theatrics. But then Sarah Palin showed up and I couldn’t keep quiet. Besides writing about why I disagreed with her on my blog, I got the cahoonas to send a letter to the editor of this very paper in response to an op-ed that had been written in favor of the formidable (then) Governor Palin.
My letter got me a regular spot in our beloved Tribune and now you’ve been reading me ever since. The months I spent being scared to shake up things of a political nature didn’t get me anywhere on the publishing front — my ultimate goal. But then I go and swallow my fear and boom — I get handed a regular column.
Being fearful is natural and forces our human psyche to confront some pretty severe decisions. Raising our hand in class; showing up at a dorm-room 800 miles away from our home; asking our boss for more money; saying, “I do.” These are all instances that can be fraught with fear; but, many of us have done them and the rewards have reverberated throughout our lives.
The problem is that as we grow older and less pliable (and more parental) our chances to do stuff that scares us dwindle. We forget how grand the pay-offs can be. We get comfortable in our lazy-boys watching other people take chances on TV. We form the bad habit of trying to avoid failure.
There was always a chance that my friend could have bombed last Tuesday night. It would have been awful and we all would have shared in her evening of discontent. But even if her routine had not gone as planned; she wouldn’t have failed. Not getting on up on stage in the first place — not taking the chance — that would have been would have been the failure.
Columns
GESENHUES: Scary territory
- Columns
-
-
CLERE: Walkout is absurd
The walkout by Indiana House Democrats entered its third week yesterday as tensions continued to rise and misinformation proliferated.
-
LADD: New Albany has new energy
New Albany is evolving. Public art has become more prevalent in the downtown, drawing more locals and outside visitors to our community; bringing more publicity.
-
HOWEY: Brooks, Walorski take aim at GOP glass ceiling
Susan Brooks’ 5th District campaign conducted internal polling in mid-April and the news was disheartening. She trailed the frontrunner — former congressman David McIntosh — by 20 points. Twenty points?
-
CUMMINS: Life was simpler before the iStuff
God set up a time line for us, which encompasses the past, the present and the future. You can’t escape any of these. If you’re here, there or somewhere, you have a past and a future, but you’re actually, at this moment, living in the present and you’re probably holding something in your hand.
-
HAYDEN: Readers respond to voter turnout question
Like others who contacted me, she said she was weary of nasty campaigns and worn out by news of corrupt politicians.
Here’s why she did make the effort: “I try to focus on all the women who sacrificed so much for women to be able to vote, and for the privilege of living in a country where we are free to vote as we choose.” -
DODD: Paying unfairly for the past
-
STAWAR: Can parents attach too much?
On this issue there is even more disagreement. While attached bassinets are considered to be fine, co-sleeping, is opposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The possibility of accidentally suffocating or crushing the infant and an increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has been often cited as a reason to avoid this practice.
-
HARBESON: The compromising nature of compromise
But there’s nothing inherently wrong with the concept of compromise. This is simply an example of how government coercion can skew and twist any concept beyond its original meaning and purpose.
-
RESCHKE: My Amazing Ohio River Bridges Project Plan
The point of sharing this memory is that once we have tolls, they will be there for as long as the bridges exist and the dollar price for frequent commuters that’s been proposed is the cheapest those tolls will ever be.
-
MOORE: The system can still work
On the local scene, services like Jerry Westmoreland’s recovery services, Bliss House, the Drug Courts (adult and juvenile) and the like are proper uses of this alcohol and drug fund money. Families in need due to a member having an addiction that affects all of them seem appropriate beneficiaries, too.
- More Columns Headlines
-



