This is a big big week in my world. It’s the International Convention for my direct sales business. This year it’s virtual because, well, Covid. Normally I would be traveling, excited to see my team. It’s a time to connect with friends all over the world, see our corporate team, hear from our founders and enjoy all kinds of big announcements and fun parties.

Can I be honest with you about Convention? Before I was a part of this company, I thought these events sounded crazy. I would see people post about going to their corporate conventions, getting all dressed up, receiving sales awards, and it kinda looked hokey to me. Then I got to experience it. It’s the busiest, most exhausting week of my life, and I love every minute of it. There are definitely parts of it that are hard on me. I don’t know how many people know this about me, but I have terrible social anxiety. This surprises a lot of people but it’s true. I get more nervous talking to an intimate group of ten people than a room of 2,000! I feel out of place and uncomfortable, I don’t know how to take a compliment, I say awkward things, like when a co-worker shared that she had to have a lung transplant and all I could muster was, “AHHHH…the lungs!” WHAT WAS THAT?? Who says, “Ahhh the lungs?” Y’all, I have a nursing background; I am a compassionate and sympathetic person. But “Ahh the lungs” was all I could come up with? Mortified! My friend Aubrey was there to witness it.

So I started this post with how much I love going to convention, and then I tell you a story like that. How in the world do these two things co-exist? Well, the truth is, I think there are a lot of people like me. I think many of us love people, we love to care for others, but sometimes the pressure to always be on and always say something profound can leave us feeling overwhelmed. It’s when I start feeling overwhelmed that things go downhill fast for me. So here’s what I’ve learned: I can’t do everything. I have to make time to recharge. I want to go to every dinner and stay late at every party but the truth is, my mind and my body just can’t handle it.

So, here’s what I want you to know. Next time you see some ladies posting about how much fun they are having at the sales convention, believe them and be happy for them. It doesn’t matter if it’s a group of stylists at a hair show, a group of bodybuilders at a competition, or a large sales organization celebrating the last year in business. Rather than judge them like I did, be happy for them.

If you ever get the chance to go to something like this but you worry if you will fit in or wonder if it can really be that much fun or worse yet, you are afraid of the ridiculous thing you might say, let me encourage you, friend. Go to the event, whatever it is. Enjoy yourself and if you say something stupid, remember you are in good company. It’s not the first dumb thing I’ve said and it won’t be the last. Stick around these parts, and maybe I’ll share about another time I wish I could have crawled into a hole and died but instead I just slipped out the back door and tried to pretend the most embarrassing night of my life didn’t just happen!

Are you a social butterfly or a paranoid party goer? Maybe you are a little of both, like me. Here’s the deal friend, if we are at the same party, hang close. With any luck I won’t say anything embarrassing, but if I do, you can be a part of my escape plan. Deal?

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