preparing for discomfort

So very similar to performance anxiety,
you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

“When I was 17, I moved from Guyana to the U.S. to get help with my stutter. Everyone that stutters has a deep knowledge of the thesaurus because while you’re speaking, your brain jumps ahead and identifies the words that you’re going to stutter on, and it’s like, no, don’t say that, use a synonym. But when I moved to the U.S., my stuttering severity actually went from a 6 to a 9. I was in full panic every time I spoke. I couldn’t even say hello on the phone because h’s were really difficult. My therapist used to take me out for pizza and encourage me to order a slice, and I would stand there and cry.”

“I would call my parents, and they would be like, what??? We sent our child away so she could get better and what is happening??? I was also dealing with housing insecurity, homesickness, etc. Finally, I joined SAY, the stuttering organization. I even went on the Today Show, and I realized that I could stutter and not die. You can have all the tools in the world, but in the end, you need a level of confidence. You need to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I was like, okay, I know it’s going to happen, but I’m not going to let it derail me. That really, really helped.”

via {cup of jo}