One word check-in

May 01, 2020
Kemi Nekvapil Weekly Words Blog

A simple resource for you and your loved ones.

I am not sure where you are meant to be today, but I am supposed to be in Ghana.

I was to be travelling there with The Hunger Project, along with 16 female leaders as part of the Business Chicks, Leadership Immersion Program.

Sadly, this is not to be this year, but I want to share a resource that can be helpful to us all.

One of the daily exercises I use when facilitating The Hunger Project programs is called the ‘One word check-in’.

It is a way for everyone in the group to share how they are feeling, including me.

We do not discuss why we are feeling what we are feeling; the power comes from everyone being able to say what they feel.

That was pre-Covid world, since then I heard people extending one word to two words, because, hey we are living through a pandemic and if you are like me, you have a lot of feelings.

Yesterday, I presented at an online event for Business Chicks, and my topic was called “Your feelings, your funk and your flow”.

I started this session by asking the participants to put into the chat box what they were feeling at that time, and the paradoxes and dualities of feeling were as varied as the hundreds of women watching the session.

 

Anxious and happy

Tired and joyful

Upset and hopeful

Optimistic and scared

Worried and relaxed

Optimistic and overwhelmed

Relaxed and unsure

 

Most of the responses were like this, and looking at them, it is curious to me that they are feelings we would put on opposite ends of the scale, and yet we feel them at exactly the same time.

This is because as human beings, we are a marvellous contradiction.

I share this with you today so that you can use this tool with your family, with your team, your colleagues or with your friends.

It is a simple way of saying “I care,” without having to delve any deeper into the feelings unless that is desired by both parties.

It is also a way of saying “Your feelings are welcome and you will not be judged.”

Something we all need to know right now is that our feelings are welcome, they are not the measure of who we are, but they inform us of how best to take care of ourselves and each other.

 

Wishing you a weekend of being a marvellous contradiction. xxx

 

– Kemi xxx

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