How to show up in your best energy when you’re stretched thin and the world feels loud.
There are seasons when the world around us feels charged — politically, emotionally, socially — and our own internal resources feel low. In those moments, it’s easy to absorb the energy in the room, match the tension, or slip into reactivity. But here’s the truth:
You don’t have to feel amazing to show up intentionally. You just have to choose your energy on purpose.
Your “best energy” isn’t about being upbeat or overflowing. It’s about being aligned, steady, and self-led — even when you’re tired.
I want to share a story from the legislative session that just adjourned…
This session pushed me in ways I didn’t expect. I was sleep‑deprived, eating irregularly, and navigating a legislature more divided and philosophically divergent than ever. My body was taxed, my emotions were thin, and the environment around me was charged.
In the middle of all that, a legislator confronted me about someone else’s work. He raised his voice, dressed me down in front of others, and used language that was not only unprofessional but unmistakably misogynistic.
Everything in my nervous system wanted to react — defend, explain, match his intensity, or shut down. Instead, I paused. I chose not to absorb his energy. I walked away, took time to reflect and regroup, and then invited him to meet again.
When we sat down, I calmly told him it was not acceptable to speak to me that way. I reminded him that the only way any of us make good decisions in the Capitol is by continuing to talk to one another. And I invited him to communicate with me anytime — but in terms that are professional and not personally charged.
That moment didn’t erase what happened, but it reaffirmed the kind of leader I want to be: grounded, intentional, and unwilling to let someone else’s energy dictate my own.
Leading With Your Energy (Not the Room’s)
Most people walk into a space and immediately start matching what they feel:
- If the room is tense, they tighten.
- If the conversation is heated, they brace.
- If someone is reactive, they react back
But matching energy is a survival strategy, not a leadership strategy.
Leading with your energy means deciding who you want to be before you enter the room — and letting that intention guide your presence.
A Simple Practice: Set Your Energetic Intention
Before you walk into a meeting or a charged environment, pause for ten seconds and ask:
- What energy do I want to bring
- What energy do I want to keep
- What energy is not mine to carry
You don’t need to feel fully resourced to choose intentionally. You just need to orient toward the energy you want to lead with.
When You’re Physically or Emotionally Tired
Your best energy doesn’t require high energy.
It requires aligned energy.
When you’re depleted:
- Let your energy be quieter
- Let your presence be slower
- Let your boundaries be clearer
- Let your expectations be gentler
Your tired self can still be your best self when you lead with intention instead of reactivity.
Closing Reflection
You can’t control the environment around you — the noise, the division, the pressure. But you can control the energy you bring into it. And the energy you bring is the energy you keep.
