Comfort Zone

Through the years I have learned there is no harm in charging oneself up with delusions between moments of valid inspiration – Steve Martin

This quote is from Steve Martin’s book called Born Standing Up. I picked up a copy after reading an excerpt he had in a Reader’s Digest while I was sitting in the dentist office. The excerpt was called The Death of My Father. It was one of those things that you start reading but can’t put down. A real insightful and touching story. For once, I was hoping that they weren’t going to call me in to see the dentist right away.

Not too long after that, I picked up a copy of Born Standing Up. I never realized how good of a writer Steve Martin was or how interesting his life was as he worked towards his career as a comedian and writer. I highly recommend this book.

Anyway, I got to the quote above and it really stuck with me. I read it at the time when I was contemplating signing up for the Pan Mass Challenge. At the time, I thought I was delusional thinking that I could not only get on a bike and ride for almost 200 miles, but also raise $4,200 for the Jimmy Fund. The most I have ever raised for any one cause was probably around $100 to $200. I was really getting myself out of my comfort zone with this one and it made me nervous.

I started to look at it like Steve Martin’s statement. Yeah sure I was “charging” myself up and trying to work up the guts to sign up for the PMC and make that commitment. And although a couple people sometimes looked at me like I was crazy, I was very inspired by the PMC story, the cause and the riders. I knew this was a great opportunity to prove something to myself. To put myself out there and take a risk. Sure, I still worry a little about it and how hard it will be but I know if I backed down from this I would always regret it.

Granted, Steve Martin was talking about a moment in his life when he was younger when he made a decision to go “avant garde” with his act, whatever that means. He wasn’t sure what that meant either but he knew that in order to get ahead, he would have to start taking some risks.

 Matt

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