If you stutter, you'll want to read this article carefully. I stuttered for over 20 years. From the time I was 5 years old until my mid twenties. My parents and I tried therapy, prayer, fasting, and anything else we could think of and nothing worked, at least not for very long.
It wasn't until I was in my mid-twenties and was so fed up with my job and life that I did some real soul searching. I knew that if I were ever going to be happy, fulfilled and as productive as I could be, I would need to find a way to stop stuttering. After several months of research, I finally came to the conclusion that what I wanted to do with my life would involve and be pretty much based on my ability to communicate effectively. That is, present or speak in public.
When this became clear to me I immediately thought to myself, "This isn't going to work. I stutter." But, instantly I knew that there was no other option, I would either learn to stop stuttering and be happier, more fulfilled and productive or go on living life far below my potential. The latter was not an option. Well, it happened that I had been listening to Brian Tracy on Time Management and Personal Achievement and came across a story he told about a lady with a slight stutter.
This lady was married with a family; she was shy and had a slight stutter. One day she was involved in bad car accident and was in a coma. When she recovered, she had amnesia. She could not remember her family or anything about her former life. She had to develop an entirely new life for herself. But here's the amazing news, she also could not remember that she stuttered. The light bulb went off! Maybe there was a way I could stop stuttering...get amnesia! No I'm just kidding. Effectively what she had to do was develop an entirely new self-concept. She had to form new beliefs about who she was, how she would act and live out her life in each and every area. Could I possibly do the same (without the amnesia that is)? Well, the answer turned out to be a resounding yes!
Over the next few months I used a combination of techniques to not only stop stuttering, but also become a professional speaker. The professional part came perhaps a year later. The point is, with a lot of hard, persistent work, using this strategy that I had stumbled upon, I was able to gradually reduce my stuttering, while simultaneously increase my ability to speak in public and private for that matter.
Here's the point to this story. I knew I was capable of doing more than I was. I knew I wanted and needed to do more with my life and help others. The only way from where I was to where I wanted to be was to overcome stuttering. There were many times I felt like giving up and probably did for a while. I became frustrated because things weren't progressing as fast I thought they should. Sometimes I would relapse and begin stuttering again and get so frustrated that I though I was going to explode. But I didn't of course:-) I kept at it because the end result was a life far more rewarding than I could ever imagine.
Here are a few reasons many people who start programs fail to complete them and reach their goal of stutter-free living:
- Unrealistic Expectations
- Impatience
- Looking for a quick solution
- No compelling and enduring desire to stop stuttering
- Ignore the psychological and emotional aspect of stuttering
- Ignore the need to put into constant practice what they are learning about how to stop stuttering
- Simply believe that they will never really be able to be stutter-free and think they will have to live with it for the rest of their life.
Friends, let me challenge and encourage you right now. There is hope. But it will take some hard, sustained work. Here's a question for those of you thinking that you don't have time or don't want to work on something for a long time, "Isn't the time going to pass anyway?" Wouldn't you rather be working toward the life you want, than trying this or that quick fix? Wouldn't you rather be working on a clear-cut sustained path toward the life you want? I'm sure, you'll say yes, yes?
If you're interested in more information on a free, yes, that's right, a FREE resource to help you stop stuttering,
visit: StopStuttering.PresentWithPower. net
Michael Williams Founder, The Place to Learn
