Most stutterers are not aware of this! (The 5 phases of overcoming a stutter)

Hey friend,

I'm about to help you understand what it is actually like to go from being a stutterer to a smooth speaker.

One quick thing I'll ask of you: Don't skim over this post. What you're about to learn is crucial for making sure you find success in your pursuit of fluency.

My programs are full of the knowledge you're about to learn.

The 5 phases of finding fluency

1) The HOPE Phase

You find a plan that gets you excited and you start to feel hopeful about the possibility of becoming a fluent speaker.

This is a beautiful first step in the process of transforming yourself.

2) The DOUBT Phase

After the initial wave of hope and optimism, there is almost always a period of doubt that creeps in.

This can occur when things don't change as quickly as you hoped, or when you aren't mentally prepared for the inevitable lows that come with the process of changing your habits.

Many people go through this phase only a few days after the initial wave of hope. This doubt is often so strong and discouraging that it leads to them giving up way too quickly.

3) The PERSEVERANCE Phase

Here you start to accept the fact that ups and downs will happen.

You start to be more patient with yourself and you consistently embrace the goal of becoming 1% better than you were yesterday.

A key part of this phase is continuing to practice with your daily routine despite the temptation to become complacent.

4) The REGRESSION Phase

Similar to the doubt phase, the regression phase happens after you've been working on your speech for a while and you've experienced a lot of growth.

The reality is, the old stuttering habit doesn't want to concede power, and therefore, it will work tirelessly to make a comeback.

This often leads to a temporary regression where you find yourself reliving the dis-fluencies and anxieties from your past speech patterns.

5) The RENEWAL Phase

When you accept the truth that sometimes a regression will happen, you set yourself up to maintain your resolve and keep working towards your goal.

The renewal phase is akin to how it works when people become muscular by committing to a workout plan.

After becoming fit and muscular, they can stop working out for a year and lose a lot of muscle that took a long time for them to grow. But when they come back and start working out again, they will regain that muscle MUCH more quickly and easily than the first time. This is due to the power of muscle memory.

In the same way, even after a bad week or bad month, you are able to regain your growth and momentum much faster than before since you already have the "muscle memory" from past growth.

You're not going to be perfect, and you will have days when the train gets off the tracks. But those who learn to be patient with themselves and get back on the tracks despite their frustrations – those are the ones who will see incredible long-term fluency.

Remember this: Not all regressions (or relapses) are created equal. When you regress, it's not as if you lose all previous growth.

Get back on your feet, renew your commitment, and you will realize that it doesn't take much to regain your fluency and find new growth.

(BONUS) The PROUD OF YOURSELF Phase

I remember when I was about 24, I started to realize the beauty of what had happened with my speech. And one day, this specific thought hit me:

"Overcoming my stutter has been the greatest accomplishment of my life so far."

What a cool feeling. 

There's nothing better than the gratitude and pride 
you feel when you reach high levels of fluency.

Remember: This sequence doesn't happen only once – you will likely re-enter these phases many different times on your fluency journey.

For example, recently I spent a few weeks in Costa Rica. This was the first time in my life where I was forced to speak a language besides English. 

And since Spanish was so new to me, I found myself stuttering a bit more than I ever would if I were speaking English.

I still go through these phases. I'm not perfect.

Now, it's important to note that even though I still have hiccups (especially when learning to speak Spanish), I no longer feel hopeless because I've built up self-belief through my past growth.

As I always say: I've reached a point now where my fluency habit has become so strong that I'm no longer a slave to stuttering. I'm never truly stuck in stuttering hell anymore.

That's the kind of goal I want you to have. That's the kind of goal you can reach.

To fluency,

Marcus Lapp / Speak Your Mind Method