{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "id": "CC-064",
  "title": "What have I said about the days when I want to back down?",
  "topic": "Conversations and practice",
  "author": {
    "name": "Craig Coffee",
    "id": "https://usedtostutter.com/craig-coffee#person"
  },
  "canonical_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech",
  "access": "public",
  "content_kind": "author_published_article",
  "context_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/about-this-material",
  "source_sha256": "bb676e65f8e55912e7f9ebfd946e574a13eaaaa4ad32235d12e56972b542f6b1",
  "source_markdown": "# What have I said about the days when I want to back down?\n\nBy [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)\n\nSometimes I back down too. I have said that directly. Some days I want to stay in bed. I know what it is like to be working hard and not see progress every time.\n\nI have also been very forceful about going out and practicing. Both parts are in the way I talk about my own experience.\n\n## The Sunday-night grocery recording\n\nAt the start of that video, I was talking about excuses: being tired, not feeling right, waiting for a better day. I was recording content daily at that point, which was a new challenge for me, and I still went into the grocery store to show how I had practiced.\n\nI explained what I had done before going out, then found a little conversation with someone looking at cookies. It happened with the first person I spoke to in that demonstration.\n\nI told the viewer I was proud of the trying and the commitment. There wasn't going to be a perfect day when all of it felt easy.\n\n## What I did when I missed my earlier daily practice\n\nIn the account of [my Once-a-Day Challenge](/daily-stuttering-practice), I said I would make up a missed day by talking to two people the next day. I was relentless about working on my speech.\n\nThat is the commitment I described for myself. The later daily recording challenge was a different project, meant to help share what I had learned.\n\n## The encouragement included difficult days\n\nIn the encouragement video, I said people face battles and keep going, and then I corrected myself: sometimes we all back down, including me. I said some days I wanted to lie in bed all day too.\n\nI wanted the person listening to know I understood how hard it could be. Progress was not happening all the time. I had gone through a lot of failure before beginning to have some good speech, and even then it wasn't every moment.\n\n## I also had to change what I did afterward\n\nI was hard on myself. A difficult attempt could turn into another night of criticism. Learning kindness, forgiving mistakes and making time for something enjoyable had a place in my work too.\n\nWhen something went a little better, I wanted to notice it. What had I managed to say? What had I said to myself afterward? [That small experience](/small-speaking-successes) could otherwise get lost while I judged the entire day.\n\nSo the fuller account contains determination, missed days, attempts that failed and times I rested. I kept learning and refining what I could use. Those are separate parts of what I have described going through.\n\nI wanted a life in which I could talk more and enjoy it. [Trying again](/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day) mattered to me, and so did how I treated myself through the process.\n\n## Related answers\n\n- [How did I practice while I was still stuttering?](/practicing-while-you-still-stutter)\n\n[Find your question](/questions)\n",
  "relative_link_base": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech",
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "reading-content",
      "heading": null,
      "heading_level": null,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech#reading-content",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "Sometimes I back down too. I have said that directly. Some days I want to stay in bed. I know what it is like to be working hard and not see progress every time.\n\nI have also been very forceful about going out and practicing. Both parts are in the way I talk about my own experience.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "3e74f5bca1f5748d063d440e9db9c9e5a3a5b4dac57a8aec00a01e3a04702c3d"
    },
    {
      "id": "the-sunday-night-grocery-recording",
      "heading": "The Sunday-night grocery recording",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech#the-sunday-night-grocery-recording",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## The Sunday-night grocery recording\n\nAt the start of that video, I was talking about excuses: being tired, not feeling right, waiting for a better day. I was recording content daily at that point, which was a new challenge for me, and I still went into the grocery store to show how I had practiced.\n\nI explained what I had done before going out, then found a little conversation with someone looking at cookies. It happened with the first person I spoke to in that demonstration.\n\nI told the viewer I was proud of the trying and the commitment. There wasn't going to be a perfect day when all of it felt easy.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "6dca4b20953159a9b3173f9c6b2c4b33ca3aa1c54c6808a26ca94d497169e5ac"
    },
    {
      "id": "what-i-did-when-i-missed-my-earlier-daily-practice",
      "heading": "What I did when I missed my earlier daily practice",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech#what-i-did-when-i-missed-my-earlier-daily-practice",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## What I did when I missed my earlier daily practice\n\nIn the account of [my Once-a-Day Challenge](/daily-stuttering-practice), I said I would make up a missed day by talking to two people the next day. I was relentless about working on my speech.\n\nThat is the commitment I described for myself. The later daily recording challenge was a different project, meant to help share what I had learned.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "bbedf98d0b6a4fc607961f54e8e140793e2204d2bb24043360386f4e2957afe7"
    },
    {
      "id": "the-encouragement-included-difficult-days",
      "heading": "The encouragement included difficult days",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech#the-encouragement-included-difficult-days",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## The encouragement included difficult days\n\nIn the encouragement video, I said people face battles and keep going, and then I corrected myself: sometimes we all back down, including me. I said some days I wanted to lie in bed all day too.\n\nI wanted the person listening to know I understood how hard it could be. Progress was not happening all the time. I had gone through a lot of failure before beginning to have some good speech, and even then it wasn't every moment.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "bc8cc2f0eee8448a286f8c892288b51cd396771c69db6bfe5c16002e13551bd5"
    },
    {
      "id": "i-also-had-to-change-what-i-did-afterward",
      "heading": "I also had to change what I did afterward",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech#i-also-had-to-change-what-i-did-afterward",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## I also had to change what I did afterward\n\nI was hard on myself. A difficult attempt could turn into another night of criticism. Learning kindness, forgiving mistakes and making time for something enjoyable had a place in my work too.\n\nWhen something went a little better, I wanted to notice it. What had I managed to say? What had I said to myself afterward? [That small experience](/small-speaking-successes) could otherwise get lost while I judged the entire day.\n\nSo the fuller account contains determination, missed days, attempts that failed and times I rested. I kept learning and refining what I could use. Those are separate parts of what I have described going through.\n\nI wanted a life in which I could talk more and enjoy it. [Trying again](/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day) mattered to me, and so did how I treated myself through the process.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "7a14be601d052f000570c13e9cfa6c97fc37295c4217f9e499f660d2868fec0f"
    },
    {
      "id": "related-answers",
      "heading": "Related answers",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech#related-answers",
      "role": "navigation",
      "source_markdown": "## Related answers\n\n- [How did I practice while I was still stuttering?](/practicing-while-you-still-stutter)\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "a409531eb5aa3e3dafae9bf002e311bf6895cd3e5d836bf1f94b2dda62262da9"
    }
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  "related_book_sections": []
}