The List You Keep Leaving Yourself Off
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Hi Reader! Somewhere between finishing the book, moderating a conference session, and recording podcast episodes, I realized I hadn't picked up a paintbrush in months. I think a lot of us who are in the business of showing up for others forget to show up for ourselves in the quieter ways, whether that's the creative detour, the walk without an agenda, or the thing you loved before your career took over your time. So I picked up the brush again. Painting asks something different of me than writing does, with no research, no sourcing and no deadline waiting at the end of it, just color and quiet and whatever shows up on the canvas that day. I had missed it more than I realized. I've also been trading podcasts and news for audiobooks on my walks lately, and I walk a lot. There's something about someone reading to me, one chapter at a time, that feels like a gift rather than an assignment. This issue is full of things I hope will be useful to you, including a piece about stepping into rooms that make you nervous, a Q&A about saying yes to the assignment you didn't expect, some articles I'm proud of, and a podcast episode that might be the best twenty minutes of your conference week. With warmest regards, Bon Bonnie’s Bites: Step Into the Expo Hall. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone. A conference floor is actually the easiest networking room you will ever be in. Everyone there already shares your professional language, your concerns, and your reason for being in that building. You don't have to explain what you do or why it matters. The common ground is already there beneath your feet. All you have to do is start talking. And yet so many talented, knowledgeable health professionals, including dietitians, spend the whole weekend at the edges of the room, waiting to feel ready, waiting for someone else to extend a hand first. Shyness is not a character flaw. But letting it make decisions for you is a habit worth examining. The shift I've seen work is simple: stop thinking about what you want to get from a conversation and get curious about the person in front of you. Ask what brought them here. Ask what session surprised them. Ask what they're working on. Curiosity takes the pressure off you entirely. When the conversation ends, take their card and make a note on the back. Note something specific that will remind you who this person actually was when you're home staring at a pile of pamphlets. Then follow up with something you connected with. The roads that change your career rarely happen during the keynote. They happen in the hallway, at the coffee station, at the booth you almost walked past. Take advantage of those moments. You Asked: "An editor recently reached out with an assignment that has nothing to do with my usual topics. It's outside what I normally cover and I'm not sure whether to take it or pass. How do you decide?" I Answered: Take it. That's my short answer. Here's the longer one with an example. An assignment landed in my inbox not long ago that had nothing to do with the topics I generally cover. It was about ways to support caregivers of people with dementia. I could have passed. But I rarely do. I decided to write it in the first person. Blogging welcomed that kind of work, and it's still my favorite way to write. Most of what I'm assigned these days is more general, so this one was a refreshing change. It also brought back difficult memories of sitting with my own mother in hospice, watching how quickly a caregiver's own needs slide down the list. That memory ended up in the story. And it made the story real. Here are three things I'll pass along to you: Say yes to the one you don't see coming. Once an editor watches you handle unfamiliar material, she stops thinking of you as the person for one kind of story. That is how your assignments widen. Find sources who have lived it. I looked for RDs with geriatric experience and I also looked for RDs who had personally cared for someone with dementia. Credentials make a piece credible. Lived experience makes a reader feel it. Spend your best line last. Mine was about the caregiver needing to become the care-getter. A closing sentence people repeat back to you will outlive the headline every single time. If an editor hands you something that asks you to show up on the page, take it. The story that doesn't look like your specialty is sometimes the one you end up proudest of. What Caregivers of People with Dementia Actually Need This one was personal. When an editor assigned me a piece on supporting caregivers of people with dementia, I said yes before I second-guessed it. What I didn't expect was how much of myself would end up on the page. I wrote about the quiet and relentless way a caregiver's needs get pushed aside. If you have ever been in that role, or loved someone who has, I hope this piece finds you at the right moment. Read the full article on EatingWell Is Sushi as Healthy as It Seems? Few foods feel as much like an experience as sushi, and that's exactly what makes it worth talking about. I spoke with USA Today about what makes it satisfying beyond just the taste, the social experience of sharing and discovering new combinations, and what to keep in mind when you're ordering. Two things here: USA Todau's story ended up in the Miami Herald and...I personally don't like sushi. Read the full piece in the Miami Herald The Best Spices for Liver Health Turmeric gets a lot of attention, and in this case it's earned. I weighed in on what the research actually shows about curcumin and liver enzyme markers, and why a spice cabinet staple might be doing more quiet work than you realize. Read the full article on EatingWell The Media Savvy Podcast: Mastering Any Social Scene with Ease Conferences, industry events, cocktail hours, rooms full of people you don't know yet. If any of those make you want to find the nearest exit, this episode is the twenty minutes you need before you walk through the door. I'm talking about how to network in a way that actually feels like you, without the scripted small talk, the awkward card exchanges, or the performance of it all. Whether you're heading to a conference this month or just want to get better at showing up in rooms full of people, this one is practical, personal, and worth your time. Subscribe to Media Savvy so you never miss an episode! 👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Watch on YouTube What I’m Reading: Just finished The Wedding People by Alison Espach, which sounds like a light beach read and turns out to be about a woman at the lowest point of her life landing in the middle of someone else's celebration. Funny and sad, often in the same paragraph. Now listening to Whistler, Ann Patchett's new novel about chosen family and second chances. I'll be straight with you: I'm finding it slow going. That may be me rather than the book, since I'm listening in pieces while doing six other things, and Patchett usually rewards patience. I'm staying with it. Have you read it? One More Thing: The strongest idea in this month's EatingWell piece didn't make it into any of my social posts, so it goes here. While sitting with my mother in hospice, I saw how quickly a caregiver's own needs slide down the list. That's where the difference between selfish and self-interest matters. Selfish is when you're the only person on your list. Self-interest means your needs have a place on that list, too. It applies well beyond caregiving, which is probably why it stayed with me. 💥 If we haven’t personally connected -- let’s change that! Send me a DM at @bonnietaubdix or @BTDmedia on Instagram, or just hit reply to this email. I read everything. Are you enjoying this newsletter? Please forward it to a friend! 🙏 Podcast Links: www.mediasavvybtd.com Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-savvy-with-bonnie-taub-dix/id1741232979 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3LzVBmZXY29Cd0Y1xU66jh YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BonnieTaub-Dix Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c70ddb7d-fb38-4d7b-a10a-2bffe9048a19/media-savvy-with-bonnie-taub-dix ____________________________________________ |