Okay great! This is me giving you an update one week after my worst food poisoning experience… 

Last week around this time, I traveled home from Berlin after attending this year’s ITB – not precisely so, because I actually didn’t go to ITB at all. This is the first time I was in Berlin in March and didn’t go to the trade show!

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on the experience and drawing some lessons. Quiet time always works magic, even when it’s uncomfortable.

• I learned that I can be adventurous with food anytime, but not before important events. Save the culinary risks for the celebration afterwards!
• Going one step backward is uncomfortable, but that’s okay: When I run events, I love memorizing people’s faces and names by heart. When they walk in, I greet them by name. When they ask “How do you know my name?”, I playfully answer, “Of course, I know all of the names of the important people.” Our partners deserve to feel special. But this time, I felt I failed. As I was crawling between my bed and bathroom, I didn’t have the energy to memorize everyone. I was disappointed because I knew I could have welcomed them differently. It felt like a step backward, but if it hadn’t been for this experience, I wouldn’t have reflected this hard. It’s given me a stronger boost to make it great next time!!!
• Over-preparing is always better: I came to Berlin early thinking I’d have plenty of time to go over the materials and speeches. Then, things I couldn’t control happened. Next time, I’ll factor in those risks and make sure I’m ready before I even leave my house for the venue.
• And finally, I felt so lucky to have people who simply showed up to help. That support system is so important and so luxurious!

I also used that recovery time to reimagine my relationship with AI. You can read my new blog post on it here.

Sometimes in life you might feel a little sad or low because you thought “I could have done it better” or “what if…” this and “what if…” that, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing because that meant you set yourself up for success and you want to be better than your yesterday’s self.

I have learned to make peace with myself by asking a different question: “What made you upset really? Was it because you cared about what other people saw you or was it because you cared about the experience you deliver to the people?” If it’s the second, then I would continue: “Then how can you ensure next time, you will deliver it better?” This doesn’t immediately make the heavy feeling go away, but it outlines clear next steps and makes the whole reflection more future-oriented rather than dwelling in the negativity of the past.

I’m back to speed now I guess… feeling better in both my stomach and my brain. Let’s gooooo! 

(Blurring faces because people’s privacy should be respected <3. Below are a few photos from last week… glad I still managed to attend the company events and talk a little bit!)