100 Days for the Rest of my Life

"100 days for the rest of my life" was the first thing I wrote down in my journal in morning of February 1, 2013. 100 days to challenge myself, 100 days to educate, 100 days to put myself out there, 100 days to learn and 100 days to transform.

During our January meeting of the Royal Oak NSA support group I made a comment about all of how our "talk" is great. We discuss issues, challenges, and accomplishments among many relevant topics in relation to our stuttering. It really is a tremendous experience, one that grounds me every 4th Thursday of the month. However, at the end of my comment I talked about how while our discussion within the group is great, it really takes action to evoke change. As I left that night, I had a humbling realization that I had been all "talk". What had I done to change? What had I done to improve? What action had I taken to make a difference? The answer was nothing.

How could I make these proclamations at our meetings about "taking action" when I wasn't? At that moment I knew I had to do something.

This idea had come to me after the 2010 NSA conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Admittedly, I did not have the real motivation or courage to follow through, and I gave up after just a few days.

Not this time.

One thing I do want to make clear is that I am not starting this project from a perfect place. My relationship with my stuttering will forever be a work in progress along with many other things in my life. My hope is that after these 100 days I will learn more about what I can be, the person who I want to be. 100stutterProject will be my anchor as I work to improve my communication skills, self-confidence and achieve goals I have set forth in my personal life, at school and in the gym.

During the next 100 days I will be sharing my experiences, good and bad, in hopes to shed some light into the power of advertising, the power of action and the affect is has had on me.