Good morning 👋
How’s your day started off?
I wanted to do something a little different for today’s blog. Instead of our usual style, I wanted to share something that I have been experiencing lately and where my head is with it all at the moment.
I’m not really sure how this blog is going to turn out, but let’s find out, shall we?
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
I’ve always been very open and honest on the page with you all about my speech, and the role that my stutter has played in shaping me into who I am today, and it’s down this train of thought that I want to take this blog.
For the last five days or so, my speech has been very sporadic, and I’ll be honest, I have no clue why.
To add some context for you:
I’m starting the seventh week of my new job this week, a position I am absolutely loving. I’ve just got back from camping with friends, have some really exciting plans coming up, and on the whole, am doing pretty good with everything.
However, last Wednesday, I woke up thinking that something wasn’t right – that my speech was a little off, and I wasn’t sure how to go about “correcting” it. Not that “correcting” is the optimal word in this sense, but you get what I mean when I say it, hopefully 🙏
I flagged this to Aidan – one of my best friends and my boss on Thursday – and he’s been incredibly supportive about it, which is always fab to see.
Why am I sharing this with you guys?
It’s my way of reminding everyone that while I have made crazy progress with managing my speech in recent years, I am just as likely to have the odd off day or spell where things aren’t going to plan. This doesn’t disregard my progress in the slightest; however, is a reminder that I’m only human. Sometines, it’s not going to go to plan, and that’s alright.
My current best guess for what’s going on is that there has been so much change going on in my life over the last couple of years; this might be my inner self’s way of telling me to slow down for a little while. To take the gas off the pedal a tad while I process everything.
Above it all, I feel like experiences like this remind us that we need to be kinder and a lot more patient with ourselves.
While I’m not 100% sure if this is true, I reckon that in a few days’ time, I’ll be back to my usual self. If I add more pressure into the mix, that’s only going to make me more stressed and will end up elongating the process.
Maybe you needed this reminder today too – that progress, or indeed personal growth for that matter, doesn’t have to look perfect.
Whether it’s your speech, your confidence, your career, or something nobody else can even see, one difficult day doesn’t undo months or years of growth. Sometimes, the kindest thing we can do is give ourselves permission to have an off week, knowing that better days are still ahead.
Plus, if you’re having a bad day, there’ll always be a photo (like the one above of me as a parrot), or something else that can bring a smile to your face!
On that note, I reckon it’s time to bring this blog to a close. What do you think? What’s something that you need to be more patient with yourself about currently? How do you recognise the growth that you’ve made recently?
I’d love to hear what you think 💃
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!
James
Sweeney's Blogs 