Positivity – Page 4 – Sweeney's Blogs

Stuttering in Mainstream Media – Blog 3: Stutterspirations

July 15, 2019August 9, 2020James Sweeney

What is a stutterspiration? How do they help people who stutter? What does it take to be a stutterspiration?

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Today’s blog is going to be the fourth blog in the Stuttering in Mainstream Media series and is going to be about Stutterspirations. Stutterspiration is a word that I have created to help distinguish a certain type of people. A Stutterspiration is a person with a stutter who inspires other people who have a stutter. The main purpose of this blog is to take a deeper look into what a stutterspiration actually is and how they help influence others.

The interesting thing when it comes to stutterspirations is that they can be found in almost all walks of life. A stutter does not discriminate which means that we can find people with stutters in all aspects of the media. In this blog, we are going to briefly talk about a person who I class as a stutterspiration and how they earned success off their talent alone.

The first person that I ever classed as a Stutterspiration is Harrison Craig. Harrison Craig is an Australian Singer who found his fame by winning the second season of The Voice Australia. Harrisons audition is where we first found out about his stutter. If you have not seen his audition or maybe want to rewatch it then you are more than welcome to click on the video below.

One of the things that I find the most interesting with Harrison’s story is that he does not get through via sympathy, he gets through simply down to pure talent. If anyone is not familiar with how the voice works then the premise is simple. Contestants sing on stage with the four coaches turned away from them, if the coach likes what they hear then they press their button and turn their chair. The contestant then gets to decide which team to go on based off which judge/ judges turn around and then progress through to the next stage of the competition.

Now as I said previously Harrisons got through his audition and then indeed went on to win the competition down to pure talent alone. Even though he has a stutter and struggles to full sentences at times without stuttering, his singing is still faultless. This just goes to show that having a stutter should not hold you back, you can still be successful even if you can’t speak without stopping sometimes.

Harrison’s story helped me realise quite a few things about how I approached my life when it came to my stutter. The fact that Harrisons pursued his dream and went on live TV with a stutter solidified the idea in my head that my stutter should not hold me back in life. I started to approach life in a more confident way and started doing things that I wanted to do. This confidence boost was one of the reasons I became a Swimming Teacher and has allowed me to teach numerous swimmers over the past 3 years. A small portion of my achievement has to be given to people like Harrison who showed us that it is possible.

I have had a lot of different people in my life tell me that I cannot do certain things due to the fact that I have a stutter. Harrison’s story is a perfect example as to why they are completely wrong. A stutter does not limit you in regard to what you want to do in life. The only thing that does limit you if you have a stutter is yourself. A stutter may make you take longer to say some things but that does not mean that your voice is any less important than someone else’s.

That is all I want to talk about in today’s blog. Thank you all for reading! What do you all think? Did you know Harrison’s story before reading this blog? Do you know of any stutterspirations in your life? What attributes do you think leads to a person being a stutterspiration? Let me know what you think and any other comments you have about my blogs in the comments of this blog or on our Facebook page.

Thank you all for reading and I hope to see you all in the next blog! Have a great week and remember to Highlight the I in difference!

Sweeney’s Blogs

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A positive Outlook for a Positive Life — mobevision.wordpress.com

July 11, 2019August 9, 2020James Sweeney

Our outlook and attitude on life, in general, plays a huge part in how happy we are in life and how successful we become. Someone who thinks positively about everything will be more relaxed, calm and smile more than someone who is always looking at the bad side, who lets stress get to them and […]

via A positive Outlook for a Positive Life — mobevision.wordpress.com

Why Positivity Doesn’t Mean Being Happy All the Time — Currently, Lately

June 28, 2019August 8, 2020James Sweeney

A common misconception I often see people have about positivity is that it’s blind optimism. That to be positive, you must disregard negativity, see the best in everything, and pay no attention to issues that come your way. Not only is this assumption incorrect, but I’d also argue that it perpetuates a toxic concept of […]

via Why Positivity Doesn’t Mean Being Happy All the Time — Currently, Lately

Being Different: Blog 4 – The Changing Mirror

April 3, 2019August 8, 2020James Sweeney

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

This is the 4th blog in the Being Different series. This blog is called “The Changing Mirror” and talks about how your reflection can change over time. This blog is going to focus on hoe your personality as well as your world view can change over time and how you can adapt this approach into day to day life.

I got the idea for this blog from a mirror in my house’s bathroom. The mirror has been in my house all of my life and is used daily. I have distinct memories of looking at the mirror throughout all stages of my life. Looking back through my memories I can distinguish the way that I felt when I looked in the mirror, what I was thinking about and how I saw the world and indeed myself.

Even though a mirror isn’t a living, breathing entity it can still act as an instrument to look through time. I can remember back to when I was five years old and going onto my tiptoes simply to try and look at the mirror. I didn’t really have an idea of how the world worked, I was just trying to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could.

When looking at the mirror over time though, you do notice that things do change. These changes can be very minor, or they can be major. Of course, as I was growing up my appearance changed. I started as a small happy child who thought that the world was positive, and no harm could come onto anyone, then I slowly started to understand more things about life and the world we live in.

I started learning about the balance that exists inside the world, how two neighboring countries can live in a completely different way. Learning how there is a clear difference between third world countries and first world countries and how this difference is slowly changing as we progress as a community and as people.

Furthermore, the way I think about things has changed a lot since I first started looking at it. When I first started looking into the mirror, I didn’t make many decisions, I was often told what to do and I had the majority of things done for me. As time has gone by the way that I think has changed. As I have experienced lots of different obstacles life has to offer, I have had to think things through differently.

I have learned to take more responsibility in my life. I now know how to look after myself, how to cook, how to clean and even day to day things like how to get a job and how to work. These jobs have required me to adapt however they have not made who I am change. That is the important part. Despite changing how I view certain things in life, the person that I am has not changed.

The unique things that I do are still unique to me. The things that make us different from other people are just as important as the things that we have in common with others. Life is all about finding an equilibrium between the differences and the similarities that everyone has. Being Different is nothing to shy away from, it is something to embrace. Just as I have seen changes when I have looked in the mirror, I have also seen similarities. This experience can be adapted to many other aspects of life.

It is often useful to evaluate the changes that you see when you look back at your life. What were the changes? What affect did it have on you? Was the effect positive or negative? Did changing the way you see certain things change you as a person? Let me know your answers to these questions through our contact page,

Thanks for reading this week’s blog, I hope you enjoyed! Evaluating your life at different stages can be a very useful thing to do, it allows you to see where you have gone wring and what you have done right in order to make the right decision going forward. If anyone has any feedback on the blog, please let me know. All types of feedback are appreciated, if I am doing something that you do not agree with then the only way, I can change it is if I know!

Thanks again and please get in touch if you have any questions,

James

The Breakfast Table Poem

March 31, 2019January 20, 2021James Sweeney

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

This week’s blog is going to be a poem I have written about a family sitting around the breakfast table. The poem shows how you can take a simple idea such as making breakfast and transform it into a poem which tells a story.

The Breakfast Table

A family sit at the breakfast table,

With the radio on powered through cable,

Each of them with their own timetable,

With plans made to be very enjoyable.

A husband sits at the table smiling at his wife,

As he butters his toast with a knife,

Watching a documentary about wildlife,

He smiles loving his everyday life.

His wife’s waiting for eggs to cook on the pan,

She’s listening to Barry Manilow, of who she’s a fan,

Whilst ticking things off her day’s plan,

She smiles when she looks over at her husband, her man.

A family sit at the breakfast table,

With the radio on powered through cable,

Each of them carrying their own timetable,

With plans made to be very enjoyable.

Their son sits there doing his homework,

Smashing through equations, as easy as clockwork,

He starts drawing a picture of a barbarian going berserk,

Then stops to admire his artwork.

Their dog licks water from his bowl,

Barking happily, he starts to do a roll,

His tail wagging out of control,

He stares at his owners, ready for a stroll.

A family sit at the breakfast table,

With the radio on powered through cable,

Each of them possessing their own timetable,

With plans made to be very enjoyable.

Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed reading the poem. It was written in a different style to how I usually write but I quite like the design of it. If anyone has any feedback they would like to share, please do let me know, either on this blog, through the “Contact” page, or by messaging our Facebook page!

What do you all think? Does everyone enjoy the poems or do people prefer the more story tailored and series based blogs? If you like poems, what do you want to see me write about next? Let me know any queries or questions!

James Sweeney

Being Different: Blog 3 – The Positive Approach

March 25, 2019August 8, 2020James Sweeney

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

This week’s blog is going to be taken a more positive view to the Being Different series. I am hoping to lighten the mood of my blogs in the next few weeks as they have been quite emotional as of late. This blog is going to talk about how being different is good and how it be a fun thing.

Being a part of a group full of different people can be a very good asset to have. Mixing with people who come from different countries, backgrounds and social groups can be a great way to broaden your horizons of life. Having the chance to experience a new way of life is a luxury that is often overlooked. We get the chance to learn about so many different cultures and beliefs, make the most of it!

The difference between one person and another is what makes friendships fun and interesting, if everyone were the same then things would get boring very quickly. Having other different people in your social group can help you think of ways to do things you otherwise wouldn’t have thought of. This can be adapted into a decision about what to do on a specific day to how to solve a complicated problem.

When I meet new people, I am always very interested in where they have come from. That does not specifically mean what country they have come from; it means where they have been brought up, the experiences with life they have, the qualifications they have, etc. I always try and learn as much about a person as I can without being intrusive. The way that I have been brought up is that to fully understand someone you have to understand the way they think, the way they do things.

I have been brought up in a community where everyone is valued based on their own assets. People are judged but in a positive way. The way that I have been raised is to say hello to people when I walk past them on the streets, to help people when they need help, to listen to people when they need someone. These skills are what can sometimes make me different. Different but in a good way.

It’s the differences that we all have that make us who we are. They are the stories that we tell, the experiences that we experience. The life that we live should be dictated by no one else but yourself. If we communicate and interact with people who we like, then day to day life can never get boring or dull. If you are with the right group, then any problems you have can be resolved somehow.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog! I’m currently looking for other people’s views on some questions. Do you think having friends from different backgrounds is a good thing? Do you think being multicultural is a good thing? What skills do you have that make you, you?

As always, all feedback is appreciated, if anyone has any questions or queries please message me. If you want to answer any of the questions above, then please send me an email using the contact me form on the next page.

James Sweeney