Embrace the Program That Stops Stuttering

We need to embrace this program.

To my knowledge, it’s the only program on the planet that boldly says, "We stop stuttering." Don’t believe it? Then join us. But, of course, you’ve got to come in with an open mind, and you’ve got to be willing to do the work.

So, what do you have to do? Well, I’ve written eight books on the subject, but if you read at least my 86-page book, Stop Stuttering: Short Course, that would be a good start. And then, download the WSSA's mobile app, follow the methods, attend practice sessions, and engage. Gradually, you’ll find yourself talking more and more, even in high-pressure situations.

But above all, the most important thing you can do is this: as an older person, I can tell you that I’m smarter now than I was 10 years ago. And 10 years ago, I was a lot smarter than I was 10 years before that. In another 10 years, I’ll be even smarter. If you keep pushing yourself, you will be one heck of a lot smarter in 10 years, and again in 10 more years, and again in another 10. By the time you reach my age, you’ll be infinitely smarter than you are right now. Will you be omniscient or omnipotent? No, of course not. But you will be one heck of a lot better than you are now.

What We Must Do to Stop Stuttering

When someone asks me what they can do to live a better life and stop stuttering, I always say this: Forget about stuttering for a moment. Instead, think about life itself.

Life isn’t external. It’s internal. Life isn’t about what’s happening outside of us; it’s about how we choose to see it. Life is between our ears. It’s about the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, what we choose to dwell upon, what we accept, embrace, and believe.

Our life is dictated by the thoughts we allow or reject in our minds. But when we don’t consciously choose our thoughts, life can become problematic. It becomes whatever thoughts are floating around in the universe — thoughts that might not even be directly aimed at us but still seep into our minds.

Random thoughts are generated constantly. Some are good, but many are not. If we let these random thoughts dictate our lives, things can spiral out of control.

Now, you may get tired of hearing me repeat myself because I’ve said this so many times. But here’s the thing: repetition is how we learn.

The trick is to reject the bad thoughts and keep repeating the good ones.

Using Mind Training to Stop Stuttering

This is where mind training comes in. It’s the foundation and bedrock of our program. We follow the timeless advice of Emile Coue, who suggested giving ourselves twice-daily mind training treatments: once before bed and once when we wake up. During these sessions, we repeat our 10 favorite, most desired thoughts, 20 times each. It only takes about 20 minutes to do.

We first relax our minds and bodies, then we repeat our affirmations. What’s the goal? We want to teach ourselves to reject negative thoughts and replace them with our most desired thoughts. These are what we call our "affirmations."

We affirm what we wish to believe, and in time, we will believe it. When we’re fighting stuttering, these affirmations focus heavily on speech-related thoughts. Once we overcome stuttering (and we will), we can gradually shift the focus of our affirmations to other life challenges.

The Main Message: Our Life is Our Thoughts

Here’s the main message: Our life is our thoughts.

Your life is shaped by the thoughts you allow in your mind. When you control your thoughts, you control your life. Your life may not be perfect, but you get to choose how you see it. We are not inferior to others. I certainly thought I was at one point. But the truth is, we are what we think about ourselves and what we believe about our lives.

We are our thoughts. If we control our thoughts, we therefore control our lives. We can choose to see our lives in a positive light. We can accept the fact that we control how we see life. We do not "discover" our lives. We create them, because our lives are our thoughts, and we control those thoughts.

When we dedicate ourselves to thinking loving thoughts — thoughts we deserve to think and that others deserve to receive — everything falls into place. We will be able to live the lives we choose, for the most part, most of the time.

Converting Stuttering into a Blessing

This is how we tackle stuttering. This is how we can convert stuttering into a blessing — through mind training, daily practice, and the acceptance of the fact that we control our thoughts, and by extension, our lives. It’s not easy, but practice makes us good, if not perfect.

Now, it’s Christmas season here in the West. For some of you, it may mean nothing, but I ask you to share the joy of it with others. To close, I’ll leave you with the words of poet PA Tate, who beautifully captured the spirit of this time:

Christmas is a beautiful season, snowflakes glistening in the light,

The many twinkling stars aglow like diamonds in the night.

Christmas is the grandest season, full of joy and mirth,

Gay bells ringing, children singing, peace, goodwill on Earth.

So, may all of you join in the Christmas spirit by enjoying peace and goodwill on Earth throughout this holiday season and into the New Year.

Merry Christmas!