Quote of the day: Committing is funny

Today I thought of a quote I read recently. Sometimes I goof off by reading interviews with actors I like. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reese Witherspoon said:

When I started out, I was only doing dramas. Then I segued into comedy sort of accidentally. I did this movie when I was 18 or so called Freeway. I thought I was being so sincere, playing this juvenile delinquent, and everyone was laughing at the premiere. People were like, "You're so funny in this movie!" And I was like, "Funny? I thought I was playing this serious character!" And I realized, what's funny is just committing. That's what sent me into comedy, and it's been the greatest thing that's ever happened.

I think anyone who studies comedy quickly realizes that committing is extremely important to humor. As Witherspoon says, "what's funny is just committing."

But the power of committing can be extended to all aspects of life. The people we admire... all of them have committed themselves to something. I'd like to make this a motto for myself:

I will commit myself to something big and important. I'll run with it and see what happens. Even if I'm scared, even if it's risky.

This is why parents sometimes say "it's better to do it well, or not at all." We should decide what's important to us and then commit ourselves to it.