In this solo episode of Five Minutes of Momentum, the host reflects on the emotional and physical "contraction" that follows the high‑energy "expansion" of producing the Unstoppable Women event. She describes the initial sadness and grief that surfaced as the event ended, the lingering adrenaline and logistical workload that extended the high, and the eventual fatigue and cortisol‑driven comedown. Throughout, she shares how she anticipated the contraction, processed her emotions, and employed a suite of coping tools—breathwork, essential oils, meditation, grounding, exercise, massage, journaling, gratitude, and debrief conversations with family and peers. The episode highlights moments of pride and gratitude for the speakers and audience, explores how the experience reshapes her identity as an event creator, and offers practical advice for listeners to acknowledge, unpack, and integrate the lessons of a post‑launch dip so that future expansions build on an expanded self rather than reverting to the old self.
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Hey. Hey. Welcome back to five Minutes of Momentum. Today. I want to talk to you about the contraction after the expansion, after the high, the incredible high of the Unstoppable Women event. It took so many months to bring that to life and the expansion that happened in the process of that. So I shared with you on an early episode all the things that expanded me, helped me step through my edge, to challenge me that the obstacles that came up, like, every part of it that developed my growth. Right. And I want to speak to you about the contraction that often happens after that. And I've had this experience before, after. You know, sometimes you have it after travel. You look at the holiday blues, right? After you've had something incredible happen, after you've gone and launched something, there's always a contraction. And so I want you to know that this is so part of the process. It's part of your recalibration. And I want to talk to you about how I've navigated this because it's really interesting because after the event, the week after the event, I actually got quite a few messages from other women in business who are at my stage of growth or even further and asked me how I was feeling after, after the event. And I named the episode this because of one woman saying, like, I know there's always a contraction after the expansion, and I hope you're not too sad. And I was like, oh, oh, am I supposed to feel sad? It was really interesting. And I feel like I was prepared for the extract that I feel like I was prepared for the contraction knowing that it was coming because of the risks that I've taken in business previously. And also, I feel like I've navigated it really well because of my mindset that often we can have a deeper contraction depending on your ability to manage and process your own emotions. So it was really interesting. So the week of the event, the event was on a Friday, the week of the event, I had moments of sadness. I was literally feeling sad that I was like, oh, it's almost over. Like, come Friday, come Saturday morning, I'll be looking at this being like, I can't believe this is over already. And so I was already experiencing an element of grief because that's what really it was, sadness and the loss. Right? And I think sometimes we focus too much on the big thing instead of the whole thing. And so I remember, like, leading up to the event of, like, how am I going to enjoy this and how am I going to experience this? And it's not just the day, it's Everything. It's all of it. It's all of it leading up to it, everything afterwards. And so the contraction, another way to describe that is the come down or the hangover, right. And so there was definitely an energy hangover. It was interesting because like I often experience this even after retreats and I've. I remember having a conversation with someone who was it actually I can't remember who it was. I had a conversation with someone who also runs big events and retreats months and months ago. And she was saying how she actually doesn't take the day off. She finds that she actually just keeps working because you're on an adrenaline high. Like you have this incredible adrenaline high and you also navigating all the moving parts after the event. So we had to pack down that night and then the next morning had to pack up the. Out of the. Get out of the hotel, get everything back into the car and then head home. And I actually booked a massage that afternoon which was really nice. Had to come to the house, it was just so nice and allowed myself to like just dip into it. But then Sunday I was like doing reflection and looking through all the video footage and all of that, wanting to create a real, wanted to share behind the scenes. And then on Monday I was deep into like what's has to happen from here, right. Because there's always like the logistics of what happens after the event of closing everything out. And so I had to go through do all of that. So I was still on an adrenaline high I reckon for the rest of that week. And it wasn't until probably Thursday, Friday that I was starting to feel the comedown. And so it was also like a level of tiredness or a bit of fatigue that actually kicked in, which I think also comes from the cortisol that was coursing through my veins for months leading up to it. Because there was definitely stressful times and definitely challenging times that I had to really step up and work through processing my emotions in a more effective way. So like in the lead up to deal with the stress or to deal with the expansion that came with it, I was working out more. I was using weights, like using my muscles to actually sweat out the cortisol. I was stretching more, I was doing more meditation and taking care of myself through the process, right. Because I knew I wanted to be able to show up on that day not stressed and show up on that day feeling really good. And I actually did, actually did feel really good. And it was interesting because I was in the green room before the event. And I was chatting to Tina and I was. She was saying to me, how are you feeling? She's like, you know, this is you being able to step in and really own, like, look what you've created. And she almost, like, was trying to lift me up, but I was like, oh, I'm not really sure if that's what I need. Do I need grounding? Do I need lifting up? Like, I'm not really sure what I need. And I had moments where I was like, I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to feel. It was really interesting. And so I feel like there's been so much emotions that there's an emotional roller coaster. And so the comedown is also the feeling of all the emotions, because often we compartmentalize and put them to the side. But I actually wasn't doing that. I was making sure that I was processing my emotions in the lead up. And then I was just. On the day, I was even doing, like, breath work and I was doing. Had essential oils and I was meditating and I was trying to ground myself and doing what I could to be in my body, right? Not in my head. And so the calm down or the hangover. It's interesting because, like, when I. When someone said to me, like, oh, how are you feeling? And they. What they were inflecting was, do you feel terrible or do you feel sad or do you feel like. I don't know, like, it was really interesting. Cause I was like, I don't know, what am I supposed to feel? And I'm incredibly proud. I'm extremely grateful. Like, every time I think about that space, that energy in the room, like, the energy even in the foyer when people were arriving, the energy of people walking into the room, like, every part of that I'm so freaking grateful for. And I feel like that's also supported the contraction because I've taken the time to reflect. I've extracted the lessons, I've extracted the great things and the things I do differently next time and the less. Like so many lessons, but also the moments throughout the day that I look back on now and I'm so incredibly grateful for the interactions with all the speakers. Seeing Leith on the stage, being supported by the crowd, that was the most incredible experience. I was at the back and I could hear everything. And I was standing at the stage door and I could hear her fumbling on her words. And people in the crowd like, you've got this girl. Keep going. And I was like, oh, my God. Like, that. Is that. Is this. That that's what this event is all about, is lifting people up. And I was so, like, almost at tears with that. And then seeing the impact of that on the stage and being like, I'm so grateful that we. That we chose her, that she won that competition and every other speaker, like, lifting people up to the next stage and then people's feedback throughout the day, and then standing on the stage at the end of the day with all the speakers and being in such gratitude for what this day had been. And then sitting at the hotel with my sister and my niece on the beds, and we were doing the full debrief of the day and being like, far out. Like, how did we do that? How did we make that happen? It was pretty incredible. And so I want to say, like, it's okay if you experience the contraction after the event. And I've definitely experienced the contraction, whether that's like, the come down from the adrenaline. And I felt exhausted, absolutely felt exhausted. Come Friday and on the weekend, I literally just relaxed, like, switched off everything and laid by the pool. I've not relaxed like that in a really long time. It was so good. And I've also processed my emotions of how I've been feeling. So I've been journaling a lot. I've been really feeling into, like, what am I actually feeling about the event? And I feel like that also helps with the contraction because I'm not sitting in negative emotion yet. I'm sad that it's over, but I'm so excited about next year. Like, and I'm not also, I'm not bypassing those emotions either. Okay. I just want to say that as well, like, we're not bypassing the emotions, are just focusing on next year. I'm sitting in the expansion and sitting in the edge and sitting in the lessons in order for me to feel proud of what I've created. And you get to do that, too. And I think that's one of the biggest things that help you move through the contraction, is if you take the time to unpack what you're proud of yourself for and be grateful for yourself and be grateful for what you've created and acknowledge yourself for the growth and the progress that you've made. That's. You get to sit in that pride. And that's not a boastful thing. It's not an egotistical thing. It's what you should feel. You should feel freaking proud of what you've created. So even after a launch, whether it's gone well or where it hasn't Gone. Well, I still find things that I'm proud of myself for. So if you can cultivate that for your mindset, it'll help you through the contraction, but it's also naturally part of your growth, Right? We expand, and we come back to a contraction. So there's an element there of identity, and. And there's also that still happening for me. So I'm like, how do I identify as the person that created an event like that? How do I identify as the speaker that holds space for those people on stage? Like, there's so much there with the contraction that I think is still. I'm still easing through. And you need to expand in order to contract, but then we go and we keep moving forward, right? So as we continue to take the lessons and implement those lessons, we continue to expand, but I cannot go back to who I was. You won't. Like, I cannot unlearn the things that I've learned. I cannot unexperience the things that I've experienced. So you are always expanded. And, yes, you might contract back to the norm. Like, I feel like there's been an element of this week where it's like, oh, things are back to normal. And I had a moment where I was like, oh, am I sad that it's back to normal? And I'm like, no, actually, like, I'm excited to have a little bit of my life back. I'm excited to expand into other areas of my life, and so you get to be that, too. And so I want you to know that if you experience a contraction, process your emotions, journal through it, work through it. Like, I've been chatting through it with a friend, like, figuring out, like, what you can extract from that experience so your expansion can hold, rather than you just go back to the old version of yourself. Not that you really can, because you cannot unlearn what you've learned. You cannot unchange how you've changed. Okay. This was a much longer episode than I expected it to be, so I hope that you found it really valuable, and I hope to speak to you all next week.
