Transfer-Wk 24,Mon-Confidence

I don’t have much time, but there is a thought on confidence and my stutter, which I’ve wanted to write about for a while.

About 6 weeks ago, multiple people mentioned how my confidence has increased since taking my speech therapy. It was strange, because it was coming from people I didn’t expect if from, it was totally off topic, and these comments came one after another.

To be honest, when I first heard it, I mostly attributed it to the person really not knowing me very well. But when others started repeating the same thing almost daily; I started to take notice.

Mostly though, I don’t think it is so much an increase in my confidence level, as it is a reduction in the likelihood of humiliating situations. Up until I took my speech therapy, every human interaction had a high probability of frustration and humiliation. But since my therapy, I’m usually able to speak fluently, or at least successfully recover when I stumble.

So I say things which would not normally be worth the effort. I speak to people without being forced to. I initiate casual conversations I would not normally engage in. I am friendly without the perceived danger of somebody talking to me.

Instead of a 95+% likelihood of embarrassment, there is now a 95+% likelihood of success.

So my natural confidence is not beaten into oblivion. And there-in lies my apparent newly acquired confidence.

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Not meant as advice, please find a qualified therapist if you are interested in similar therapy.