Dr. Bhawana Shrestha is a prominent scholar and advocate for emotional wellbeing, currently serving as a Visiting Researcher at The Brookings Institution. She is also a Co-Founder of My Emotions Matter, where she focuses on advancing emotional health.
She is an Assistant Professor at King’s College and has previously worked as an Educational Consultant at UNICEF and a Fellow with Teach For Nepal. Dr. Bhawana Shrestha has also served as a Global Youth Ambassador at Theirworld and as a news anchor at Makalu Television HD.
Holding a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Management-SPED from Kathmandu University, Dr. Bhawana Shrestha’s work reflects a deep commitment to education, advocacy, and emotional wellbeing.
Journey of Dr. Bhawana Shrestha on developing “My Emotions Matter’’
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha and her partner launched a mentorship program aimed at helping people better understand and communicate their feelings. Their interest in emotional intelligence emerged from this initiative, leading to the founding of My Emotions Matter in 2018.
The organisation, relatively new to Nepal, focuses on promoting emotional literacy. Over the past six years, the social enterprise has made significant progress, conducting workshops and sessions in schools, colleges, and communities to enhance emotional awareness and vocabulary.
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha remains dedicated to advancing emotional intelligence, believing it is essential for personal and societal well-being. The mission is to deepen the understanding of emotions throughout Nepal.
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha on Emotional Intelligence: Key Insights and Benefits
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha describes emotions through three key lenses: subjective experience, physiological response, and expressive behavior. Subjectively, emotions are unique to each individual. Physiologically, they manifest in bodily responses, such as a racing heart with anxiety or calmness with relaxation.
Expressively, emotions influence our actions and facial expressions. Emotions can be simplified as involving energy and pleasantness: unpleasant emotions often correspond with low energy and discomfort, while pleasant emotions bring calm and ease.
Dr. Shrestha views emotional intelligence (EI) as a transformative skill that enhances self-awareness, improves relationships, and boosts resilience. Mastering our emotional responses and empathizing with others through EI facilitates effective communication, helps handle challenges, and strengthens leadership.
In educational and organizational contexts, EI promotes better interactions and supports growth, unlocking potential for success across various aspects of life. Additionally, emotional intelligence aids self-reflection by enhancing self-awareness, leading to a deeper understanding of one’s emotions, behaviors, and patterns, and fostering meaningful personal growth and informed decision-making.
Thinking vs. Overthinking and the Role of Emotional Intelligence
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha distinguishes thinking from overthinking by highlighting that thinking is a productive, goal-oriented process designed to solve problems and make decisions, while overthinking involves excessive rumination that can lead to analysis paralysis and heightened stress. While thinking is balanced and adaptive, overthinking often perpetuates a cycle of worry and doubt, negatively impacting mental well-being and decision-making.
She emphasises that while we can manage our own emotions, our role in empathising with others is crucial. As friends, we should listen, support, and avoid invalidating others’ feelings. Identifying and naming our own emotions is essential for managing them, and when helping someone who is sad, it is important to acknowledge their feelings and offer comfort rather than attempting to control or dismiss them.
In view, Dr. Bhawana Shrestha emotional intelligence (EI) involves:
- Self-Understanding and Self-Awareness: Recognizing one’s own emotions, values, and what is important.
- Self-Management: Regulating one’s own emotions and responses.
- Social Skills: Motivating oneself, understanding others, and building effective relationships.
Emotional intelligence enhances personal and social interactions by integrating these aspects. Dr. Shrestha also notes that the development of EI starts early and is significantly influenced by family planning and parental involvement. Prospective parents should consider their own emotional intelligence and communication skills, as they play a crucial role in nurturing emotional awareness and management in their children, which impacts their emotional and social development.
Managing Emotional Hijacking and Handling Emotions
Emotional hijacking occurs when intense emotions override rational thinking, leading to impulsive actions and decisions driven by immediate feelings rather than thoughtful consideration. This can result in regret and negative outcomes.
From Dr. Bhawana Shrestha’s perspective, to manage emotional hijacking effectively, one should: pause and breathe to regain composure, recognize and understand emotional triggers, develop emotional intelligence, practice self-regulation techniques, and implement preventive strategies for emotional resilience.
To handle emotions constructively, Dr. Shrestha emphasises acknowledging and accepting your feelings, practising mindfulness and deep breathing to stay grounded, reflecting on and reframing negative thoughts for better perspective, and developing awareness of emotional triggers. Regular self-care, seeking support from trusted individuals or professionals, and setting healthy boundaries are also crucial in maintaining emotional balance and well-being.
Advantages of Emotional Intelligence in Student Life
In a student’s life, mastering emotional intelligence (EI) is essential for managing stress, navigating social interactions, and making sound decisions. According to Dr. Bhawana Shrestha, her “KCG” framework—Knowing Yourself, Choosing Yourself, and Giving Yourself—provides a comprehensive approach to emotional intelligence.
Knowing Yourself involves understanding your emotional energy and how it influences your actions. Choosing Yourself emphasises making decisions that align with your core values and goals. Giving Yourself focuses on shaping how you want to be perceived and striving towards personal and professional excellence.
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha’s framework helps students develop greater self-awareness, make informed choices, and foster personal growth. My Emotion Matters offers workshops, courses, coaching, and consulting that align with Dr. Shrestha’s principles, helping individuals and teams build self-awareness, empathy, and effective communication skills for better collaboration and overall success.
Understanding and Managing Emotions: Suggestions from Dr. Bhawana Shrestha
To understand your emotions, Dr. Bhawana Shrestha suggests reflecting on how you feel throughout the day. Notice which emotions were pleasant or unpleasant and identify their sources. Ask yourself why you felt a certain way and which parts of the day you liked or disliked. If you can’t analyse it at the moment, take notes or photos to review later. This reflection helps you understand your emotional patterns and improve your responses over time.
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha emphasises that while reflecting on emotions is valuable, handling them moment-to-moment can be equally effective. She advocates for a **6-second pause**: taking a brief moment to calm yourself before making decisions. This short pause allows you to collect your thoughts and respond more thoughtfully, making a significant difference even if it’s just a few seconds.
Conclusion
Dr. Bhawana Shrestha’s expertise and her organisation, My Emotions Matter, demonstrate the transformative power of emotional intelligence. Her work focuses on self-awareness, empathy, and practical strategies to manage emotions and handle emotional hijacking. By fostering these skills, individuals can enhance decision-making, resilience, and overall well-being.
Here is a video from Consult Nepal that explains Dr. Bhawana Shrestha’s principles on emotional intelligence. It highlights key strategies for understanding and managing emotions, based on her framework and the work of My Emotions Matter. The video provides practical tips for enhancing emotional well-being and applying these concepts in everyday life.