In late October, I started taking stand up comedy classes at the DC Improv. I cannot begin to explain how terrified and awful -- truly, truly awful -- I was in those first weeks of class.

I thought about dropping out of the class no fewer than 1,000 times a day. Standing up on a stage, under the heat of the spotlights, surrounded by an audience who wants you to make them laugh RIGHT NOW is definitely outside my comfort zone. It also may be fair to say that it is outside the comfort zones of most sane human beings.

Sometime during the third week of class, though, things started to click. I was still extremely nervous, but my mind finally grabbed hold of how to write and craft good material. I also started to get control of my stage presence and feel a wee-bit more comfortable behind the microphone. My instructor Matt Kazam had definitely earned his teaching fee.

I'm still not the most amazing comedian you've ever encountered, but I'm no longer the worst. Most importantly, I don't want to quit -- actually, I'm pretty addicted to the whole process. I've been out and about on the local circuit doing open mic nights and already have a paid gig under my belt. The more I go out and practice, the better I get.

Going from the bottom of the barrel to where I am now has not been easy. It has involved a lot of practice and a big commitment of my time. It also has forced me to clear all of the negative thought clutter from my mind. I've had to talk myself out of quitting many, many times, and these are a lot of the items I've had to remind myself about as I've been going through this process:

• In the beginning, it's okay to be bad. In fact, a person should be bad when starting something new. There won't be any sense of accomplishment if you start out awesome and remain awesome.
• It's okay to fail, you can recover from failing at this task. Sure, my ego was bruised when I bombed, but I survived. As long as someone's life isn't at stake, it's okay to NOT be perfect once in a while.
• Taking a risk to fulfill a dream is better than staying at home and being afraid. Being afraid has zero rewards.
• Even if I bomb, I can still learn something. There is a lot to be learned from failure, as well as success.

As you're starting the new year and your new set of resolutions, keep these thoughts in mind. Rid your mind of all the negative, cluttered thoughts, and replace them with more positive, useful mantras. Good luck to you on all your new 2009 endeavors!