How to test if you are making progress in your speech (not about fluency)

How to test if you are making progress in your speech (not about fluency) Isn't the answer “you are making speech progress when you are stuttering less”? That would be an easy answer, but contradictory to how you would actually stutter less. I'll explain..  If you’re judging your speech progress based on how much you are stuttering, you will be constantly caught in a loop.  The fact you want to stutter less means you value fluency over stuttering.  The fact you value fluency over stuttering means you have negative emotions or negative outcomes tied to stuttering If you are constantly trying to not stutter.. What are you thinking about? You are thinking about your stutter! And since there's a bunch of negative emotions tied to it, how easy will it be to express yourself how you want with anxiety, fear, or doubt? Impossible.  So holding fluency as the goal at first makes sense, but will only sabotage you and keep you spinning your wheels.  This is what I did for the first part of my journey and we all have been caught in this cycle.  So how do we know if we are making progress or not?  I will tell you.  But I want you to take this very seriously because this has the opportunity to completely change the way you see your stutter and your journey.  Here it is: The best measure of progress in your speech is the sense of belonging you feel after you stutter. Is your sense of belonging going up? where after you stutter you are feeling more and more connected to others? (or more and more LESS disconnected?) Or are you feeling MORE shame, embarrassment, anxiety, frustration everytime you stutter?  Not just after each time you stutter, but just in the interaction to start.. What is your level of belonging you feel?  A great way to judge this is to ask yourself 4 questions. How much do I want to prove myself in this situation? How much do I want to please others in this situation? To what extent do I feel the need to pretend in this situation? How much do I want to perfect myself in this situation? You will notice that in situations where you completely feel like you belong, you will have no sense to prove, please, pretend, or perfect.  You may ask, “Chase this makes sense, but how is this getting me closer to overcoming my stutter if I feel more of a belonging?” Simple. The more you feel like you don't belong, the more you are going to present a fake version of yourself. The more anxious you will be, the more doubts you will have, the more you will have to anticipate and script out everything before you speak. The more tense you will be as a result and the more you will stutter.  ALTERNATIVELY When you are feeling this sense of belonging you can completely let go of all the filters and fears. You know that whatever happens, EVEN if you stutter, you will be completely fine and accepted.  This allows you to express yourself without doubts, anxiety, and fear.  Thus, bringing the more authentic and natural version of yourself out.  And we can already speak fine.. When we are in a natural, calm state (like by ourselves). And that's the ultimate goal.  Effortless, natural expression.  Isn't it? It is.  This approach changed my life in ways I can't even comprehend.  Overcoming stuttering is about becoming the most authentic version of yourself. It's not about fluency.  Fluency comes as a bi-product.  Much love.