Episode 703: The Real Work Happens After the Room (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT703 – The Real Work Happens After the Room

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

[00:00:34] Megan Porta  

Hello food bloggers. How’s it going this week? I hope you’re having a wonderful week. Welcome to this mindset and self care focused episode of Eat Blog Talk. So happy you’re here as always. Today I am going to talk a little bit about just the real work happening after you leave the room and we’ll talk about what the room is. I’m going to structure this episode a little bit differently than most mindset episodes. Usually I do the five steps to five ways to and it just feels like that’s getting a little bit stale. So I’m going to leave that behind today and see how it goes.

[00:01:18]   

So bear with me. I hope this is still really valuable. As I’m recording this. I, along with my business partner Melissa have just wrapped up an incredible whirlwind week at Flavor Media Summit in Savannah, Georgia. We had the best time.

[00:01:37]   

I’m still in the process of kind of sifting through everything that happened and processing everything that we experienced there. It was an amazing year and I did not intend to plug Flavor Media here, but it truly was so magical. If you’re interested in coming and you are an intermediate to Advanced Food Blogger, I welcome you to apply for next year.We are going to be in Austin, Texas next year. Go to our site to find the application flavormediasummit.net. At Flavor Media this year the connections, the conversations, the magic of all of it. The new value we learned, the new ideas. All of it was so valuable and powerful. But even more than that, the emotional waves of pushing myself outside my comfort zone in so many ways and just being able to hold that space for other people who I cherish so very much and dreaming bigger.Not just for me, but for others in the space.

[00:02:47]   

All of that stuff is still settling in my soul. Events like Flavor Media have a way of expanding us in ways that are really hard to put into words right away. It takes some time to process through it all. If you have ever been to a conference or a retreat or even an intense zoom call.It can be virtual.

[00:03:15]   

It doesn’t always have to be in person. And you’ve felt that mixture of just total exhilaration and emotional exhaustion. You’re not alone. I get it. That’s what I’m feeling right now.

[00:03:29]   

And that’s why I thought it would be really relevant to record this episode, because I am in it. I’m in all of that today. I’d love to talk about how what we do after an experience like these matters so much more than what we absorb while we’re in the room. When I say in the room, I’m not just talking about Flavor Media Summit.The room can be a retreat you go to, it can be a conference you invest in.

[00:04:01]   

And like I said, it can even be something virtual, such as a zoom call with other people committed to growth. Just like you. Being in the room, whether it is physical or virtual, is a huge accomplishment in itself. It means you showed up, you said yes to something. You said yes to likely something important, such as learning to connection and to stretching yourself in ways that you know you need to do that.

[00:04:35]   

And let’s be honest, being in a room can feel uncomfortable. It can feel intimidating. Sometimes it can be really overwhelming and depleting because the room is where we’re pushed to grow. It is where we see what is possible for ourselves, and it is where we confront the parts of ourselves that are ready to expand.This is the magic part.

[00:05:04]   

The room can also feel socially daunting. I understand this part of it more deeply than most people, I think. But here’s the thing that’s easy to forget. The room is not the finish line. It’s what comes after the room that matters most.

[00:05:24]   

Taking action on what you absorbed is so much harder than being in the room. It requires focus. It requires courage and a deep willingness to stretch yourself when, honestly, nobody’s watching. People are in the room. People are not always with you after the room.

[00:05:47]   

And that’s where the true transformations happen. Not when you’re sitting in the chair, soaking in the information and absorbing the atmosphere, but in the days, weeks, and even months and years that come after when you decide what you’re going to do with everything you have gained. It’s so tempting to leave the room and immediately want to just either sprint forward and do everything all at once or forget everything because it feels like too much.

[00:06:23]   

You could be just full of ideas. Your mind could be buzzing.

[00:06:26]   

You can see that next level version of yourself starting to take shape, and you just want to do everything now. But before you go ahead, it’s so important to pause. Reflection is going to bridge the gap between inspiration and taking that meaningful action. Without that pause, all those fresh ideas and sparks of motivation can slip through the cracks of everyday life.

[00:06:54]   

I’ve seen this happen for my own life so many times.

[00:06:59]   

So the first step after the room is simple, but it’s so powerful and important. Slow down and reflect. You can ask yourself a handful of questions. Here are three that just came to the top of my mind. What moments from the experience impacted me the most?

[00:07:19]   

What new possibilities opened up in my mind? And where did I feel the most excitement and maybe even a little fear? Write these things down and either think through them or journal about them. And this is going to ground the energy you felt while you were in the room. It’ll create a map you can actually use instead of just relying on what you remember from being in the room or letting it all fade away in the busyness of life.

[00:07:55]   

After you take the time to slow down and reflect, which is supremely important, I’m going to say it a couple times because it really is so powerful when you allow yourself to do that. There are a couple other things you can do after you leave the room. One is choose one big action to anchor so you’ve taken the time to reflect.

[00:08:19]   

You now probably notice there are a lot of ideas swirling around in your head, so the next step is really important. Choose this action to anchor.

[00:08:31]   

And I say just one. Because trying to implement 20 things or even five things or three things at once is going to scatter your focus. It’s going to drain you. It’s going to keep you from having that momentum before you even get started. If you took notes while you were in the room, whatever that room looks like, maybe you have some reflections written down or insights.

[00:08:58]   

Look over those and ask yourself what one action, if I committed to it fully right now, would create the biggest impact or ripple effect? Which action feels expansive, exciting, and maybe a little bit scary? It could be launching a new product. It could be building out that welcome sequence in your email list, or combing through your email list and deleting cold subscribers.It could be finally outsourcing or hiring help.

[00:09:33]   

Whatever it is, choose it, name it, and write it down. This will be your anchor. This will be the thing you honor as a turning point after the buzz from the event or the room has faded. Once you act on this anchor, you can start adding more anchors. You just don’t want to overwhelm your system to the point where you don’t do it.

[00:09:59]   

So lather, rinse, repeat, keep at it. Once you have launched into the first anchor and you’re making progress.

[00:10:09]   

Two: Another thing you can do after the room is follow up on relationships, not just your notes and actions. Remember that the relationships you formed in the room are just as valuable, if not more valuable, than any notes you took during sessions. People are where the opportunities, the collaborations, and those true support systems are born.While it’s fresh, reach out.

[00:10:41]   

Here are some things you can do this week in this regard. Send personal thank you messages to people you connected with while in the room. You can share a takeaway you appreciated from someone’s talk or conversation. You can offer a quick idea or a collaboration if it feels aligned. There was a room I was in last fall.

[00:11:02]   

I went to a conference that a friend slash mentor hosted and I remember being very inspired by a conversation I had with a fellow attendee. I could have let that conversation fade, but it was so inspiring to me. It really lit something up inside of me. So I followed up and just let that person know how inspired I was by her words and it created such a magic between us.

[00:11:34]   

I think it created a magic for her and it definitely created a lasting magic for me.

[00:11:40]   

Don’t let those important conversations go. People and relationships mean so much in this world. So act on that after the room. When you treat post event connection as a long term important relationship, not a short term transaction sort of thing, magic will happen over time, I promise. Another thing you can do after the room point three is just don’t let it evaporate.

[00:12:10]   

Protect that energy that was built inside the room. Inspiration can feel infinite when you’re surrounded by the right people, but it fades really fast once you’re back in your normal environment. Even on the plane coming home, it can feel like it’s starting to fade. Here are some simple ways to extend that glow that you receive in the room.

[00:12:34]   

Block out time for implementation before life crowds it out.

[00:12:40]   

Even just 30 minutes a day will do the trick. Avoid soul draining tasks for at least a few days up to a week after the event if you can. Right now we’re about one week post Flavor Media ending and I have been really careful to protect my soul during this time. That sounds kind of silly, but it’s so true.Any task that I start that just immediately feels like a drain, I stop.

[00:13:08]   

I am trying to be so intentional about doing aligned things in this week post event. Also, stay plugged into growth minded conversations. Revisit your notes from your favorite session. Tune into an inspiring podcast or audiobook, or contact a friend that was at the event or in the room with you and talk to them about things that you enjoyed together.

[00:13:37]   

Really protecting that post room energy is not necessarily about being rigid.

[00:13:44]   

It’s more about being just very intentional. I’ve used that word a lot, I think, so far. Give the seeds you’ve planted a chance to actually grow. Give them space. Another thing that you can do, post room, which is point four, reframe the post summit crash.

[00:14:05]   

Let’s talk about something that nobody ever warns you about. The post room crash. It is so normal to feel not just even a little bit depleted, emotional or sad after a big event, but to feel very depleted, emotional or sad after a big event. I experience this so often and it doesn’t mean the event didn’t serve me. And if it happens to you, it doesn’t mean that it didn’t serve you.

[00:14:36]   

It means you expanded. And that expansion requires energy. It took me a really long time to learn this. For so long I thought something was wrong with me because I was feeling all of these things post room, post event. Once I realized that my soul, myself, my growth, everything good was actually expanding, I accepted this truth and embraced it so much more readily.

[00:15:03]   

So instead of thinking, I’ve lost the magic, it’s gone. What is wrong with me? What has happened? Something bad just happened. We can reframe it and think this is where the seeds are starting to sprout.

[00:15:18]   

I always love that visualization of planting seeds. And then you have to step back and let those seeds actually do their thing so they can grow. I love that. So that’s a good place for your mind to go. When you’re in this spot, you can also think it’s safe for me to rest and trust the work that has been set in motion.

[00:15:41]   

Some things take time and we just have to honor that. Growth is a cycle. There’s energy and action, reflection and rest. Allow yourself to move through all these phases without judging yourself. That’s all I have for you.

[00:15:58]   

I hope you liked this new structure. It was more loosey goosey. I had fewer notes, so let me know what you think. To wrap up remember that the real work doesn’t happen all when you’re sitting in the room and absorbing the information. The real work actually happens after you leave the room, when you have a chance to reflect, when you have an opportunity to pick an action to nourish those connections, protect your energy and move forward with courage.

[00:16:31]   

You’ve been in the room, so you’ve already planted the seeds. Now it is time to water them so that they can grow when they’re ready to grow. I put together some optional journal prompts for you if you are into journaling and if you’re not, I encourage you to just try them this why not pick one or more of these and just write about them today and see what comes out.

[00:16:54]   

What moment from the event the room shifted something inside of you? What is one action you can take this week that honors your growth?

[00:17:05]   

Who are three people you want to deepen a connection with? What boundaries do you need to set to protect your energy from the room and how can you celebrate yourself for showing up in the room and doing the work after? Don’t forget to celebrate because as I mentioned earlier, it’s not always easy being in the room.

[00:17:28]   

So good job showing up for it. And here’s an affirmation to end with.

[00:17:33]   

Write this down and if it feels aligned, repeat it or write it out daily for a while. I honor the work I did in the room. I trust the growth unfolding inside of me. I am committed to planting, watering and harvesting the seeds of my next season. That is all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed this. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. Thank you for showing up and I’ll see you next week. 

[00:18:02] Outro  

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self-care episode of Eat Blog Talk. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you over there.