Description: This week, Dr. Boogren challenges the Self-Care Squad to show up for our students and peers a little differently.
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Transcription: Hi, and welcome to episode 30 of season two of Self-Care for Educators. I'm your host, Tina Boogren. Before we get started, I want to remind you that we've got merch. Oh my gosh. You guys, it makes me so happy. I'm starting to get ... People are sending me photos of their stickers on their water bottles or on the back of their computer. They're using their journals. They've got tote bags that they're carrying to school. Oh my gosh. It's just blowing my mind. It makes me so stinking happy. So, if you missed from a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to share that we have merch. So, you're going to find it. It's one of those bit.ly sites. We've got it linked everywhere. So, you'll be able to find it, but, you know, bit.ly, bit.ly/selfcaremerch, bit.ly/selfcaremerch. And, if you go there and snoop around, you will see we've got drink the stupid water stickers. Oh, LYBL stickers. We've got magnets. We've got journals. We've got hoodies and t-shirts and oh my gosh ... Coffee mugs ... I'm trying to think what else. There's just so much there. It makes me so stinking happy, everything from the logo of the podcast to bad-ass self-care educator to just all oh, so much stuff. So yay. You guys. You've been asking for merch. We've got it. Go check it out. I'll be posting at various points, too. I know this, this site offers like these amazing deals and discounts. So keep, keep an eye out and an ear out for those. I'll let you know about those. Okay. Onto today's episode.
So, today's invitation, this week I want to challenge you or invite you to be enthusiastic. Be enthusiastic. It might be a challenge this time of year, as we think about, it's just a challenging time to ... When we think about , we think of bringing the energy and that just can feel exhausting, but I mean, enthusiasm, as in ... Many of you have heard me in workshops, talk about this. I talk about teachers being enthusiastic with students. And, what I mean by that, I, I would define this in these, these three ways that number one, students know that we love it. Number two students know that we love them. And, number three, we demonstrate that there is no place in the world we'd rather be. And, I want you to really think about that this week. I want you to be enthusiastic, whether you work with students, whether you work with adults, whether you think about bringing your enthusiasm home to your family, we need to be enthusiastic there as well.
I ... one of the greatest compliments is when people tell me my, that my enthusiasm is contagious in that it feels very real and legit, because there is no greater compliment to me, because I do love my job. I love the workshop participants that I get to work with. And, truly there is no place else that I would rather be. I just wrapped up a workshop. I'm here in Houston as I record this in my hotel room, and I just wrapped up day one of a two day workshop. And, at the end of the workshop, I said to folks, This is why I love my job. It's these days that I have to remember when things are hard, and I'm stuck in an airport, and another flight has been canceled, and there's no rental car available or whatever it is. These are the moments for me to remember.
So, identifying that for yourself in your job, how do you hold on to that? How to you, how do you reignite that passion? How do you hold on to your why? How do you put it in the forefront of your mind so that you show up with enthusiasm? We know our emotions are contagious. We've got these mirror neurons. This is something that I talk about a lot, because I believe it's so critical to remember that we set the climate and the culture in our own classrooms and in our own buildings and offices. And so that, that bumper sticker slogan of, of, you know, be the energy that you want to be around. There's something to be said for that, to be responsible for our own emotions. And, I want you to try being enthusiastic, and here's the deal--being enthusiastic, even if you don't initially feel that way ... Gretchen Rubin has this amazing quote about acting the way you want to feel. And, I think this holds true in particular for enthusiasm. So, even if you don't feel enthusiastic, and what's pretty crazy about our brains as we fake it, we tend to catch up to it, and you will actually start to feel enthusiastic.
Everyone shows their enthusiasm differently. I mean, you don't have to be these big, bold cheerleader type moves. It can be if that's your personality, but whatever that is for you. If you think about an outsider observing you in your job, whether again, that's with students or with adults, whatever it is, and that person just by watching, you said, Whew, I'm watching someone that loves what they do. What would that look like? And, start doing that act that way. Say those words, envelop that body language, bring that enthusiasm. You know, many of us start, we start out enthusiastic with our jobs. We're excited. We got the job, we bring all the enthusiasm and then gosh, things just get hard and that enthusiasm can start to go away. And. this is just a reminder to bring it back. Pretend it's the first day on the job. Pretend you just got the job.
How would you show up if your whole mission was to spread enthusiasm? Was to make your enthusiasm contagious to those around you? What would that look like? And, I want you to play with that this week. I can't wait to hear, oh, over in that Facebook group, let us know how this goes. I can't wait to hear just what purposely, intentionally bringing that enthusiasm, what that word means to you and what that looks like for you, how that changes your daily interactions. And, what it means for those you work with, for those you teach and lead or your own family. I think, I think this could be a game changer. Awesome. Thank you.
I'm going to remind you once again, that we've got merch. So you're going to head over to bit.ly/selfcaremerch. You're going to treat yourself, too. Awesome.
Huge kudos by the way, to Brooke who was the main person who designed all those incredible stickers and magnets and all the logos and all that brilliant stuff over, over on that site where the merch is. So, huge, huge thank you ... Gosh, the work that Brooke does for us is just incredible. Thank you also to Solution Tree and Marzano Resources for this amazing job I get to do. And you, my bad-ass Self-Care Squad. Bring the enthusiasm this week. Yes!