Comedian Tig Notaro talks about taking personal risks at 2022 Makers Conference. (Photo by Vivien ... [+]
“Comedy is always a risk,” comedian Tig Notaro reports in a Netflix documentary about her life. Notaro is known for pushing boundaries with her comedy, and her risk-taking has paid off. In addition to the documentary, the standup performer has two HBO specials, received Emmy and Grammy nominations, currently hosts two podcasts and will have a recurring role alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon in the upcoming season of The Morning Show. Notaro shares how she thinks about risk-taking and overcoming the fear of leaving her comfort zone.
One of Notaro’s breakthrough sets evolved from a series of tragic personal events in her personal life, including the sudden death of her mother, a breakup, a life-threatening hospitalization for an intestinal disease and a bilateral breast cancer diagnosis, all within four months. Having no idea how an audience would respond, she decided to integrate her dismal personal situation into her comedy. She opened her set at L.A.’s Largo with “Good evening. Hello. I have cancer. How are you? Hi, how are you? Is everybody having a good time? I have cancer.” The set went viral and helped launch her career.
After her double mastectomy, she exposed her scars by performing a portion of her set topless at New York’s Town Hall and during her HBO special in Boston. Again, the risk paid off, and the show became another iconic set.
It’s not that taking these risks comes easy for Notaro. “I’m terrified each time I do it,” she told me. “Make no mistake, I was terrified to announce I had cancer and to take my shirt off on HBO,” she adds.
So how does she overcome the terror and step out of her comfort zone? “It's a matter of not ignoring what’s burning inside you,” she says.
Notaro recommends thinking about risk-taking this way, “Picture yourself on an island—that's how I think of it. You’re on an island and running out of resources. And there's a raft that's starting to move away. It's probably worth it to make that leap to see if you land on the raft. Because if you stay on this island, there's nothing going on.”
Risk-taking isn’t only valuable for comedians, but research has shown it’s critical for success in various careers, from professional athletes to entrepreneurs. Yet there’s evidence that many of us, especially women, don’t take enough calculated risks. According to a Women’s Leadership Study from KPMG, women in business could also benefit by taking more calculated risks throughout their careers. Although the majority of women surveyed believed that people who take more career risks progress more quickly, less than half (43%) reported being open to taking bigger risks themselves. These women blame a lack of confidence, fear of being judged and an overabundance of caution for holding them back.
Naturally, risk-taking involves uncertainty, so it doesn’t always pan out. But, for Notaro, taking risks is not all about obtaining a positive outcome. She’s had plenty of material fall flat with audiences. “It feels so much better to try new material than to do the same over and over for years and years. That makes you feel dead inside,” she describes. If a risk doesn’t pan out and new material bombs, “you still feel more alive than doing the old stuff forever,” she says.
Like Notaro, most people can bounce back when a risk results in negative consequences. The KPMG survey found that 70% of the women surveyed tend to be very resilient when their work risk doesn’t pan out, and almost half say they don’t regret taking a risk even when they fail.
Notaro doesn’t limit risk-taking to comedy but also applies the island metaphor to her personal life. “When I met my wife, I felt very much like, I don't know how not to be married to this person. And within the first month, I wanted to tell her,” Notaro says. She knew it would be a risky reveal. Her girlfriend might think she’s insane and be scared off. But, she says, “I thought about being on that island.” She took the risk, her girlfriend felt the same way, and the two are married now.
Notaro believes the secret to stepping outside our comfort zones and taking risks is listening to and trusting ourselves. “You're your own best therapist. You know what you should do. You just have to really listen to yourself and just do it,” she says.
