Right before my eyes, I saw it happen. A moment that makes your stomach drop. The kind that changes everything.

And my first instinct was to go into overdrive.

To call everyone. To fix it immediately. To burn myself out trying to solve something that might not even be solvable.

And I did. But then. I took a deep breath and said to myself, “Megs, handle your shit.”

So, I did just that. I did something different. I protected my energy.

When bad things happen, we panic.

We go into fight-or-flight mode. Our brain screams that we need to DO SOMETHING NOW.

So we do what we've always done: we sacrifice our energy. We cry. We stop sleeping. We stop eating. We freak the fuck out.

We tell ourselves it's temporary. It's just this crisis. Once we get through this, we'll go back to normal.

But here's the truth: The crisis is when you need your energy the most.

When everything is falling apart, you need to be clear. You need to be strategic. You need to be at your best.

And you can't be at your best if you're running on empty.

When bad things happen, you have a choice: you can let the crisis drain your energy, or you can protect it.

Here's how to protect your energy when everything is falling apart.

The first thing to do is acknowledge that something bad happened. Don't pretend it didn't. Don't try to minimize it.

But also don't let it become your entire identity.

You're not "the person whose [bad thing] happened." You're a person who is experiencing a difficult situation.

There's a difference.

Say it out loud: "This is hard. This is real. And I'm going to get through this."

Then take a breath.

In a crisis, everything feels urgent. Everything feels important. Everything feels like it needs your attention right now.

But it doesn't.

Your non-negotiables are the things that keep you functioning. The things that keep you sane. The things that keep you able to show up.

In a crisis, you can't do everything. You can't be everything to everyone.

So you need to triage.

Ask yourself: What absolutely has to be done by me, right now?

Not everything that's urgent. Not everything that people are asking you to do. Just the things that actually need your attention.

When bad things happen, people want to help. They want to check in. They want to know what they can do.

And you might feel obligated to respond to every text, every call, every message.

But you can't. You don't have the energy.

So communicate your boundaries clearly.

Your Sacred Block is non-negotiable in normal times. It's even more non-negotiable in a crisis.

But it might look different.

Instead of 3 hours of deep work on your empire, it might be 30 minutes of stillness. 30 minutes where you're not thinking about the crisis. 30 minutes where you're just being.

Protect this time fiercely.

Because this is the time that keeps you sane. This is the time that keeps you able to think clearly. This is the time that reminds you that you're more than this crisis.

This is the hardest one.

When bad things happen, we want to handle it alone. We want to prove that we're strong. We want to show that we don't need anyone.

But that's when we need people the most.

So ask for help. And when people offer, say yes.

Let them bring you food. Let them sit with you. Let them handle the things you can't handle right now.

Crises are temporary.

But the damage we do to ourselves trying to handle them can be permanent.

You can't control whether bad things happen. But you can control how you respond.

You can choose to let the crisis drain your energy. Or you can choose to protect it.

And when the crisis passes—and it will pass—you'll be grateful that you did.

You're already managing a lot. A 9-to-5. An empire. Health. Relationships. Community.

When a crisis hits, the temptation is to sacrifice everything to handle it.

But you can't afford to do that. Your empire needs you. Your health needs you. Your relationships need you.

So protect your energy. Not because you're selfish. But because you're strategic.

Because the best thing you can do in a crisis is to stay strong enough to handle it well.