Description: Dr. Boogren guides the Self-Care Squad to intentionally enter 2024.
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Transcription: Hi, and welcome to Self Care for Educators. I'm your host, Tina Boogren. This is season four and episode 17, and this episode is coming out in January of 2024. We turned the calendar page, and I want to start off by saying I so hope that you were able to take some time to really sink into your break and enjoy it fully. And, as we get started again in this brand new year, I want to spend the next couple of episodes doing some things to get us going as we think about turning the calendar page. And, I know for, for us as educators, our calendar page kind of turns in August oftentimes, or September for some of us. When we, there's something that feels so incredible about having a clean slate and a fresh start to the brand new year.
And, this is where we start, well, it's already been happening, it's not starting, you're getting all sorts of targeted ads, I'm sure, around all the ways, new year, new me, all the things to change. And, I first want to say, there's nothing that needs to change, you're perfect exactly the way you are. And, as we think about moving into the new year, instead of thinking about these big sweeping changes instead, I'm going to encourage us to think about hmm, new year, same us, but what are our intentions? And, one of the ways that I love to welcome in the new year and set some intentions around the new year is to choose a one word theme. I've been doing this for years and some of my past themes or words have included words like breathe and balance and calm and delight. And, gratitude and this year, I'm still, as I'm recording this, I'm recording this a little bit earlier than January, just so that Brooke and I have some time to get this ready. I'm still thinking about my word.
If by the time this comes out, I have it figured out, I will definitely post it over on the Self-Care for Educators page on Facebook. But, what I'm thinking about currently is choosing the word consistency. As I think ahead to 2024, and I'm 48 years old, and kind of set in my ways, which I'm actually going to claim as a victory, because I've worked really hard over the last few years to get some habits in place to commit to my core values and to make decisions and set boundaries around my core values as a way for me to overcome not feeling motivated ... So, in other words, I know for myself, and this is true for most of us, that if I just wait until I feel motivated to do something that probably won't happen. Instead, I've really gotten clear on what my personal core values are, and I use those as kind of a backdoor or a sidestep way to keep going and make forward progress, even if I don't feel like I have a ton of motivation in the moment.
And, because it's really worked well for me, as I think ahead to 2024, I feel like, Gosh, I'm not at a place where I want to make huge changes. I just want to keep going. As I record this towards the end of December. My whole plan for December has been to keep going, to not totally go off the rails so that when January rolls around, I feel like, Oh my gosh, I'm starting from scratch. Instead to keep doing what I know works for me and stay consistent. I'll get more specific if it's helpful. So, for me, what I know works for me is prioritizing sleep. And, drinking the stupid water and moving my body and staying connected with the people that I love eating food and making choices around my food that helped me feel my best when I prioritize my physical wellness. What I know is everything else kind of starts to fall into place, which feels really good when I feel off. It's typically because I'm not taking care of myself physically. My sleep isn't up to par, if you will. I am not prioritizing protein. I'm not drinking enough stupid water. I'm not moving my body.
And so consistency, I feel like, is the word I'm looking for. So, I want to offer up to you to think about what is a one word thing that you want to think about moving into 2024. I think there's something kind of nice about ... And, even if you haven't chosen one, choosing one starting now, you haven't lost any time. You took a break. You took a well deserved, oof, hopefully incredible break. And, there's nothing wrong with not starting right away on January 1st of making all the changes. And, even if maybe you did that, this might be a way, time or an opportunity for you to kind of catch your breath and say, Okay, is that really what I want as I move into January, or did I kind of fall prey to all of the advertising? That tells us that we need to make these big changes and do all these big sweeping epic adventure things and instead catch your breath and, and, and reflect do some quiet reflection and think about what do you really want to have as your one word theme or a phrase or guiding question as you move into 2024?
And, once you've chosen that theme, then it's fun to think about how will you remind yourself of that. Are you going to put the, put the theme or the question or the phrase on sticky notes? Is there a certain symbol that maybe attaches to your word or theme that you could be on the lookout for? Are you the kind of person that likes to get a little charm for your key chain, or a necklace or a bracelet, something that you can tangibly wear and see every day to remind you of your theme? Maybe you wanna share your theme with someone else. Maybe as you do your journaling and reflecting, you, put that theme at the top of your page, or that word or that phrase so that you can circle back to it and reflect on it. That's what I want you to think about your one word theme, and I'd love if if you're open to it maybe jumping over to the Facebook group and letting us know kind of making it public it which it always makes it kind of feel more real of what your word or phrase is or your guiding question. However, you want to approach it because I think it's so inspiring to hear from each other. And, that's what I want you to do.
I will go over and share, as I said, right now, as I'm recording this, I'm thinking of the word consistency, but I also in the back of my head, I'm like, I want something a little, I don't know, a little splashy or maybe, or I'm trying to think of a, uh, symbol or a picture or something that I could tie to that. So that's still something I'm contemplating on hopefully, but time this episode comes out, I'll have that kind of locked down and that's it. I want you to think about what are your intentions for 2024, and is there a guiding word or phrase that will help you hold on to those intentions as you move into this new year and into the second half of your school year? I'm cheering so hard for you.
As always. I'm so grateful for you, and I hope your transition back into work and school and schedules and all of those things is a smooth one and that you're remembering to take very, very gentle care of yourself as you, as you move back into, into school. As always, a huge thank you to Brooke for making this happen. We're so grateful for you. Thank you to Solution Tree and Marzano Resources for this job I get to do. I'm so incredibly grateful. And, to you, my bad-ass Self-Care Squad. Oh, it's going to be a good year. Let's welcome in 2024 with open arms. I'm cheering so hard for you. You've got this.