Episode 9: Build Emotional Awareness Two Words at a Time

Description: In this episode, Dr. Tina Boogren invites educators to slow down and practice a two word check in. By pausing to name how you’re really feeling in just two words, you build self-awareness, calm your nervous system, and make space for empathy and connection. It’s a small habit with a big impact on your well-being.

Resources:  Educator Wellness Framework. Use the code Wellness20 to get 20% off Tina's book 180 Day of Physical Wellness for Busy Educators.

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Transcription: Hi, and welcome to Self-Care for Educators. I am your host, Dr. Tina Boogren. This is episode nine of season six, and this week's invitation is going to fall under the category of emotional wellness. Many of you are aware of the framework that I created with my colleague, Dr. Timothy D. Kanold, where we have identified these four dimensions of wellness, physical, mental, emotional, and social. And this week's strategy would fall under the umbrella of emotional wellness. 

And here's what it is. I love it so much. It's The Two Word Check-In. The Two Word Check-In. So I'm going to give you the short version. What I'm gonna ask you to do, and I'd love for you to do this every single day this week, is to pause during your day and ask yourself, how am I really feeling right now in two words.

When we name our emotions, we build this self-awareness and we help to regulate our stress. And there's that, I love that like little bumper sticker slogan: Name It, to Tame It. Sometimes just by saying it out loud, we can start to tame it. This would fall under that very first step, the first routine that we talk about under emotional wellness, which is just an awareness of our emotions. And we're just gonna start there. 

And so here's why this works. So when we name our feelings, we're actually activating the prefrontal cortex and this is the part of the brain that helps us make sense of emotions. So just again, by putting words to a feeling, we reduce the intensity of that emotion.

The two words keeps this so simple, and by doing that, we're just lowering that barrier to entry, right? We don't have to sit down and write a whole journal entry. We don't have to overthink this. This is just what I would call that quick gut check. That brevity, that shortness, the two words, helps to keep this something that you can do during your busy day.

And here's what else I love. It is also encouraging honesty. So what's really surprising is how quickly we will start to notice layers in our emotions. So for example, we might say, “my two words are anxious and hopeful.” Or we might be tired, but grateful and that duality actually makes a whole lot of sense. Because we oftentimes feel a whole lot of things at one time. And so when we just say one word, sometimes that doesn't feel quite right, but by giving ourselves the two word check-in, it might paint a more accurate picture of what we're actually feeling, which is what I love. 

So here's what you can actually do to put this into practice. Set an alarm on your phone. I'm a big fan of doing this because otherwise I forget to do it. And when that alarm goes off, I want you to just kind of pause for a second. Maybe you can take 30 seconds, maybe just 10 seconds, maybe close your eyes if that feels okay. And again, you're just gonna ask yourself, how am I feeling right now in two words. 

And I want you to refrain from judgment. There are no bad answers here. There are not terrible emotions that we should not be feeling. We need the full spectrum of emotions. And in this moment, what this invitation is, this isn't about fixing those emotions, it's acknowledging them. It's the awareness piece. And what I'd love for you to do is do this like maybe three times a day-  morning, midday, evening. You set that alarm or maybe you have a post-it note reminder. And by doing it multiple times a day, you will start to notice your emotional shifts over time. Do you feel different in the morning than you do around lunchtime? Do you feel different at the end of the day than you do in the evening? You'll just start to get to know yourself better, your patterns. That awareness is huge. You might even think about doing this with others. Maybe at a staff meeting or at your dinner, family dinner. Have everyone share two words that came up for them and how they felt that day.

This really is creating that space for empathy and connection. Maybe you want to kick this up a notch. Remember I talk about turning the dial up or down, and maybe you turn the dial up by actually writing those words down in a notebook or a journal or just a note on your phone. And then over a week or maybe a month, you will really start to see those patterns emerge that maybe Mondays are really stressful and you feel stressed, but Fridays you feel relieved or you feel calm or you feel energized or the opposite. And really what that does is again, you're getting to know yourself and you start to get that insight into what you might need, how you might be able to get ahead of some of those emotions if you're starting to see those patterns.

And ideally if, when you name those, when you do that pause, take a couple deep breaths. We know how essential those deep breaths are for releasing tension, recentering. It's just huge. It's absolutely huge. So that's what I want you to try this week. I want you to start thinking about the two word check-in and how you can implement that into your day. Maybe you even do this with students, maybe you just do this with your teammates. You have a quick check-in. Maybe you do this completely by yourself. All is good, but I want you to just really give this a shot this week. 

For me personally, the emotional wildness dimension is a tough one for me. I've, I've said this before. I'm very much a type A personality. I am an Enneagram three, and all that means is that I just don't have time for emotions. I have that to-do list, right? Remember last week we talked about the stop doing list, and I really did work on that and continuing that worked for me, so I'm gonna keep doing that. But this, this whole recognizing how I'm actually feeling, is tough, and pushing myself to think beyond happy, mad, or sad, and really like, what am I actually feeling? Am I nervous? Am I ecstatic? Am I overstimulated? Am I exhausted? Notice exhausted feels different than tired, right? Am I stressed? Am I overwhelmed? There's a difference there. So really practicing that, and again, not trying to fix it, just building awareness around it is so essential. And so that's what I want you to work on this week. I'm gonna do the same thing.

We are so, so, so grateful for Adrienne. Whenever I'm around her, I feel delighted, also, completely, utterly delighted that I get to work, oh, with and for Solution Tree and Marzano Resources, and absolutely delighted that you tune in to this podcast and have helped to create this incredible badass self-care squad. Oh. I just am so grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing this podcast with others. Thank you for returning week after week and for actually putting into place these strategies to see if we can live our very best lives. As always, I'm cheering so hard for you. I've got my hand on your back as you move through this week, and I know, I know that you are gonna make it an incredible week.

You are amazing. I love you guys.