Episode 18: One Tiny Upgrade

Description: This episode marks the beginning of a new chapter as Self-Care for Educators becomes Everyday Wellness with Dr. Tina H. Boogren. Tina shares the heart behind the shift, honoring educators while widening the circle to include all humans who give a lot of themselves. This episode sets the tone for a year rooted in compassion, realism, and everyday practices that help us feel more like ourselves.

Subscribe here to receive a weekly reminder for each new episode.

Listen Now:

---

Transcription: Hi, and welcome to Everyday Wellness with Dr. Tina H. Boogren. I am your host, Tina Boogren, and if you have been with me for a little while, you might notice something a little different. I welcomed you with the new podcast title, which is Everyday Wellness with Dr. Tina H Boogren, formerly known as Self-Care for Educators.

So here's what I'm gonna ask you to do. I want you to just pause. I want you to take a deep breath with me and that feels really good, doesn't it? So if you have been part of this community from the start, my educator friends, my leaders, my support staff, my classroom magicians, please know this, you are still at the center of my heart and the core of this work. You have always been the heartbeat of this podcast. Truly, your resilience, creativity, tenderness towards students and each other has inspired each and every episode that I have created and we're growing. 

In 2026 we are going to widen the circle because here's what I know more and more, I am realizing that wellness isn't just an educator conversation, it's what I would say, a human one. What we know is that stress, exhaustion, joy, purpose, identity, balance, burnout, delight, rest, these belong to all of us. So whether you teach, parent, lead, write, care, serve, build, or create. Whether you are in a classroom, or a clinic, an office, a kitchen, a bus, a studio, if you are someone who gives a lot of yourself to your work and to your life, this space is for you. Not instead of educators, alongside educators.

So here's what we're doing. We're expanding the table, and I am inviting you to pull up a chair. The decision to shift from, well to shift to, I should say Everyday Wellness with Dr. Tina H. Boogren came from listening. For years now, I have been listening to your messages, your stories, your fatigue, and your hope, and many of you kept saying “Hmm, I'd love to share this with my non-educator friends and family members.” And I started thinking, what if wellness was something that we practiced together every day in tiny ways? All of us. 

So this really is not a dramatic pivot. Think of this more as like a gentle widening. It's a bit of a soft shift. What you will find as we move into this new year is still the same heart of this podcast, my voice still here, the same commitment to evidence-based strategies that feel doable for real humans with real lives and very full plates. As always, this is not about perfection. You're not going to find grand impossible changes. What you will continue to find or as we welcome new listeners, what you will find, is compassion and research and a bit of humor and small meaningful practices to anchor your week. 

So this is your place, whether you've been with me for a long time, or you are a new listener. You belong here. This space just is getting a little bit bigger. And so in fact, my first invitation for this week is to invite your colleagues, your partners, your spouse, your best friend, your sister, your neighbor, anyone who can use just a little dose of wellness to help themselves stay afloat. And what I would want to be really clear about is that everyone is welcome in this circle. Per the advice of Glennon Doyle, we will continue to stand in a horseshoe, which means we will welcome, welcome, welcome, anyone and everyone to join us in this quest to live our very best lives. 

And since this is week one of our transition, I wanted to begin not with a grand resolution that a lot of times accompanies starting the new year. I want to start with something simple, something gentle, something that honors where you currently are and gives you a nudge towards taking one teeny tiny step forward. Because remember, we have always known wellness isn't this destination we arrive at and get to stay there forever. Instead, it's a daily practice of remembering who we are, who we want to be, and above all else how we want to feel.

And so this week's invitation is this- as we move into the new year, I invite you to choose one tiny upgrade to improve your daily life. Not this huge overhaul, not this massive makeover, not a typical New Year's resolution, just one tiny upgrade. Think about teeny tiny things that you can do starting this week. Maybe you put a glass of water by your bed so that the first thing you drink in the morning is that stupid water. Maybe you choose to use the good mug and not save that for another person or another time. Maybe you treat yourself to some new fun office or school supplies. Replace the pin that barely writes it drives you crazy and go buy yourself the felt tip pin or the G2 pilot pin or whatever makes you happy. Teeny, tiny little upgrade. Maybe your upgrade is you are going to add one fruit or veggie to your day. Maybe your upgrade is you are going to light a candle when you wake up in the morning as you're getting ready and not save it for the special occasion or for later on.

These are teeny tiny little upgrades that will be personal to you. And remember, they're tiny, they're kind, and what they say is that I matter, you matter, and that's it. Just one small meaningful gesture of care can turn into this ripple effect. And as we move into this 2026 New Year, and for many of you, my educator listeners, this is perhaps a new semester, a new quarter as we move into this new space, let's just be really kind and gentle with ourselves. And let's just concentrate on that tiny upgrade. 

I so deeply want to thank you for being here at the beginning of this next chapter. Many of you have been with me on this journey the entire time, and I want you to feel the security, safety, and stability that will continue to be here. But as we send this invitation out and we invite others to join us, I want to welcome you from the bottom of my heart. You are in the kindest, ah, most incredible group of badass listeners that you've ever met in your life. So know this, if you're an educator, I'm not going anywhere. And if you are new here, welcome. I am so glad you found us. You belong here. We're so happy to welcome you. Let's look ahead into this new year together.

What I will ask is that if this episode resonates with you, please share it with someone else who might need it. Remember, you can subscribe, you can leave a review. You can connect with me on social media. I love hearing your stories and celebrations, and so let's engage in inviting others to join this powerful circle. And let's commit to one tiny little upgrade this week. I'm gonna do this alongside you as always.  

Thank you, Adrienne, for getting this podcast to all of our people. Thank you to Solution Tree and Marzano Resources, which provides the basis of this work that I do. And to you, my Badass Wellness Squad. I'm so grateful for you. It's going to be an amazing year. I'm cheering so hard for you. As always, feel my hand on your back as we start 2026 together. One tiny little upgrade with an even bigger circle of support.

If this episode resonated with you, find more social wellness episodes here.