What being on stage has taught me about energy over the years

I walked off stage at TVMA and I was BUZZING.

Saturday morning I facilitated a 4-hour Energy Management Workshop “Burnout to Breakthrough” with a room full of veterinary professionals who showed up at 8 AM on a Saturday to talk about their energy, their nervous systems, and their lives.

And y’all. It filled my cup in the most impactful way!

Let me tell you why.

I’ve Been Doing This Since 3rd Grade

Most people don’t know this about me, but I’ve been on a stage since I was a little girl. I have always love the ability to express myself to a larger audience. To create meaning and feeling through speaking and art. 

It started with competitive dance & cheer competitions in elementary school. The Food Show in 4-H, standing in front of judges, explaining how to make my my potato soup recipe and spouting off nutrition fun facts.

That led to Oral Reasons in Dairy Judging, where you stand up and defend why you ranked the animals the way you did. It teaches you to think critically, communicate clearly, and hold your ground under pressure. 

I was Miss Congeniality of the Wharton County Youth Fair. Combining my love of people, connection and time on the stage. 

I didn’t know it then, but those moments were shaping everything I do now...

Teaching. Facilitating. Standing in front of a room and saying: let me show you something that might change the way you see the this.

Since 2019, I’ve been teaching hospital culture to hospitals. In 2021, I started lecturing in conferences when I had the honor of lecturing alongside Dr. David Bessler at IVECCS, one of the biggest stages in veterinary emergency and critical care.

And this weekend? Four hours. One room full of medical professionals ready to stop surviving and start thriving.

This is the work I was made for. I feel it in my bones.

What I Covered (And Why It Matters to You)

The workshop “From Burned Out to Balanced: Energy Management for the Modern Vet” and it wasn’t your typical CE lecture.

I started with an Energy Crisis Quiz. Every person in that room had to honestly assess where they were, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That honesty? That’s where the breakthrough begins.

I explored the Four Pillars of Energy:

🧠Mental — Are your thoughts working for you or against you?
💪Physical — When’s the last time you ate a meal sitting down?
🩵Emotional — Do you process your emotions or stuff them down?
✨Spiritual — Are you aligned with your Authentic Values? Do you know why you’re doing this work?

Breakout sessions. Peer-to-peer dialogue. Journaling. Real conversations about real struggles. And every single person walked out with a customized energy management action plan.

The Moment That Got Me

There was a moment during the breakout sessions when I looked around and saw veterinary professionals who walked in guarded, exhausted, skeptical… and they were talking and being vulnerable with strangers who understood.

That’s the magic. That’s what togetherness actually looks like in practice. This is the beginning of community.

Research shows that your nervous system is your most powerful leadership tool. When you’re regulated, you make better decisions, communicate more clearly, and show up as the clinician, and the human, you actually want to be.

Your Takeaway (Even If You Weren’t There)

1. Take the honest inventory. Take the Energy Quiz: Mental, Physical, Emotional, Spiritual.

2. Identify your biggest imbalance. Is it a task? A pattern? Name it. Email or DM me about what you need.

3. Build one micro-ritual to support your biggest imbalance. A 90-second breathing reset between patients? A 5-minute journal before bed? A boundary around your lunch break? Start small. Start now.