Monday night was full of good vibes spilled over from the NSA Annual Conference in DC. We had 22 people there, with 4 brave first timers (welcome Spring, Lucas, Stephen, Mark and Victoria!!). Stephen, visiting from Texas, kicked off the meeting by asking about our favorite conference moments.Adam K spoke about a young woman who walked up to the open mic in DC and said that her sweaty palms, dizzy head and pounding heart reminded her that she was alive and ready to rise to the occassion of public speaking. Dhruv was reminded of a TED talk about “eustress,” which is “good stress” that can motivate us to step up and get the job done. The group debated whether we can start to reframe our fight or flight response to stuttering as a call to action, instead of a cue to avoid. In the middle of all this, the young woman Adam had been speaking about tried to slink into the room unnoticed. We welcomed Rivky 🙂
We continued with a discussion of transitioning back into our lives and work after returning from the conference, where we connected with almost 1,000 stutterers over 5 days. Some members compared the conference to a battery charge, where they are reminded that they can stutter and still communicate clearly and joyfully. Others spoke about the challenge of heading into work on Monday and quickly reverted back into old behaviors of shame and avoidance. I think we all agreed that attending the conference is a powerful experience, but continuing to engage with the self-help community throughout the year is what keeps us movin’
To conclude, we all shared one word that summarizes the good we see or want to see in ourselves. Here are some good ones – authentic (x3), open, calm, successful, confident, comfortable and my favorite – eloquent. Then most of us headed across the street for a drink and more conversation.Until August! Enjoy the weather 🙂