Surfacing emotions that we never knew were holding us back is a disruptive experience. It is much easier to numb ourselves to them, and when we do, it becomes impossible to understand their influence on our lives. Fear and shame were mine. I lived in fear of anyone hearing or seeing my stutter, and I
Tag: Fear
Habit building is a process and a skill that takes refining, trial and failure, and iteration. Every action that we pursue can be broken down into its smallest parts and made easier to do or become automatic. It is one part awareness of the parts or steps in the process, and another figuring out what
At thirteen-years old, I attended a month long intensive fluency clinic to fix my severe stutter. If I didn’t do well, I would stutter forever. I didn’t do well. Fast forward eighteen years to a moment when I was answering questions as part of a talk I gave at the National Stuttering Association’s (NSA) annual conference. “Why do most people who
Unless someone tells you what it is you never feel it. It lingers in the background of your life, wearing down your resilience and leaves you unknowingly begging for mercy. Instead of acknowledging it, we numb our senses and bury its burden. It accumulates and compounds with each moment. It shapes who we are each day. It
With two face masks on, a blue dress shirt, and a red skinny tie, I sat before an 80-inch screen as at least 15 faces stared back at me. The faces—a mix of peers, supervisors, and senior executives—weren’t aware of the courage that it took to stutter through my ten-minute presentation. While I spoke, I