Episode 28: Tiny Social Sparks
- Tina Boogren
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Description: When life feels busy or overwhelming, connection is often the first thing we unintentionally reduce. In this episode, Tina introduces the idea of tiny social sparks, those small, low-pressure moments of human connection that can increase feelings of safety, belonging, and energy. Through simple, everyday interactions, this invitation reminds us that even brief social moments can gently regulate our nervous systems and soften hard days.
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Transcription: Hi, and welcome to Everyday Wellness with Dr. Tina H. Boogren. I am your host, Tina Boogren, and I'm so happy you're here. Thanks for being here. You guys, truly, truly, I'm so grateful for you. This is episode 28 and this week's invitation I'm going to call this tiny social sparks, tiny social sparks. So we're going to tap into our social wellness this week and per usual, it's not going to be this big overwhelming thing that I'm asking you to do. It's not even plan a dinner party kind of invitation, which to me feels like, oh my gosh, that's so much. We're talking about tiny, tiny, itty bitty social sparks
When I hear the word spark, I think of sparklers and sparklers are so fun, and that's what we're tapping into here. So here's what I mean by these tiny social pparks. These are just small human moments, things like a smile, laughing together, just the eye contact. Those small things that kind of feel almost insignificant, but they're actually super, super, super powerful.
There's a ton of research behind this, so our brains and our nervous systems are wired for connection. This includes people like me who consider ourselves to be introverts, this is all of us. So what the research tells us is that even small, brief, super short, positive social interactions can increase feelings of safety, belonging, and energy. Let me say that again, because that's so powerful. Even brief, positive social interactions can increase feelings of safety, belonging, and energy.
Here's what's happening, it's a reminder that we are not alone. We are not alone. And this is important for us, this everyday wellness community, because we all are busy and we might be in the midst of a really busy season right now and we might be tired, and so when we get really busy or we get overwhelmed or we get stressed, or we're on that verge of, or in the throes of burnout, connection is often the first thing that we unintentionally reduce. We cancel plans, we keep our heads down, we move through the day quickly. We assume everyone else is too busy.
But here's the truth, these tiny little social sparks can pull us out of that feeling of stress and overwhelm and exhaustion and dysregulation and burnout. Teeny tiny little moments with someone else can be exactly what we need to pull ourselves out of those depths of hard spots. So the invitation is I want you each day this week, hopefully, remember everything's on a dial, you can turn this up or turn it down, but I want you to ignite one tiny social spark each day. Something easy, keep it low pressure, something kind.
So maybe you purposely send a voice memo instead of a text, or you actually, I don't know, pick up the phone and call someone. Maybe you decide that you are going to tell someone specifically why you appreciate them. Maybe you're going to go sit next to someone instead of sitting by yourself. Maybe you're going to eat lunch with someone else rather than eating alone. Maybe you're going to ask one follow up question in a conversation to keep the conversation going just a little bit longer. Maybe you're going to simply wave at a neighbor or talk to a neighbor. Maybe you're going to share a funny memory with someone. Maybe you're going to compliment someone, something small but genuine. Maybe you're going to send a no-need-to-respond message. I love those where you just say, I've been thinking about you. I hope you're doing well. I hope you have a great day. I hope you're able to look up and see that moon tonight. No need to respond.
Ah, maybe you're going to laugh out loud with someone and let yourself really, really, really laugh. Maybe you're going to make brief, not awkward, but real eye contact with someone and smile. Maybe you're going to talk to a stranger just for a second. Just for a second. Sit next to someone that you don't normally sit next to.
These teeny tiny, itty bitty, little moves and decisions that we make are these tiny social sparks and they all count. They always count. And I know for myself, when I do this, I never ever want to do this. I always think that when I am not conducting a workshop, when I am traveling out in the world by myself, that I just want to be left alone. I am the queen of let me get my Kindle out and start reading or put my headphones in or give off every signal that I don't want to talk. But whenever I do, I go out of my normal routine, and I talk with someone else. It's always better. It's always better. When I purposely linger a tiny bit and follow up with my barista and ask her how he or she is doing, or my server at a restaurant, or the person checking me in at the hotel desk, whatever it is, it always, always, always makes me feel better. And so it's like retraining my brain that sometimes, of course, yes, I want to be left alone, but man, I don't have to sit down and engage in an awkwardly long conversation, just these small moments of human connection can just make all the difference. And I think in the world right now, man, we could use some more human connection. Just the smile, ah, the kindness, the compliment, the gesture of “ I see you and I care about you and you belong here.” I think all of this just is what we need so desperately right now, and so that's what I want you to play around with this week.
I'll remind you of the last two weeks we've really been talking about our nervous system and calming our nervous system. In episode 26, we talked about simple, simple things that we can do on our own to calm our nervous system down. In episode 27, we talked about borrowed calm, how we can calm our nervous system with this steady energy of someone or some thing, or some song, or some environment. And this is kind of expanding that idea of calming our nervous system through connection. It could be someone who's calm, right, that we're getting their steady presence, but just that human connection, that reminder that we are all hardwired for connection, whether we feel like it or not, that those small moments of warmth can really help to soften our hard days. They really strengthen relationships, build trust among people, and they remind us that we belong and belonging is so absolutely essential, right? Remember that feeling of safety and belonging and energy is so essential.
And when we're able to do this, we notice it right away. It's like an instantaneous gratification when we engage in these acts of connection. And so that's what I want you to play around with this week. I'm going to do the same thing and let's see what this does for our nervous system and for our overall energy.
I am cheering so hard for you. I'm so grateful for you. Make this a great week. I'm so, so, so grateful to Adrienne and Solution Tree and Marzano Resources who help get this message to all of you and to all of you, this amazing group of badass wellness warriors who are out there doing hard work every single day. I just want you to know that I see you, I see you, and I'm cheering for you, and I hope you feel my hand on your back as you move through this week. You're amazing. I love you.
If this episode resonated with you, find more social wellness episodes here.
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