Meet the Feelumis · Excited

Piko

The all-in one

“Let Your Energy Shine”

If you feel excited today, you are not "too much." That fizzy, can't-sit-still feeling is your body getting ready for something that matters to you. It is one of the best feelings there is.

Piko's story

Piko is a pink bunny with springs for feet and a hundred ideas before breakfast. When something fun is coming, Piko can hardly sit still. That energy lights up a room.

Sometimes people told Piko to settle down, and Piko wondered if being excited was wrong. It isn't. Excitement is fuel.

Piko is learning to steer it: to notice when a friend needs a quieter voice, to save some energy for later, and to be kind when the battery runs out. "Let Your Energy Shine" means you don't have to dim it. You can learn to aim it.

Piko the pink bunny leaping in the air with confetti and stars

Piko at a glance

On a Piko day you might

Bounce, hum or talk faster than usual
Count down to the thing
Have trouble falling asleep the night before

Piko's strengths

Brings energy that gets everyone going
Has big ideas and says yes to trying
Makes ordinary days feel like events

Tricky parts

Being told you're too loud or too much
The crash when the fun is over
Waiting. Waiting is the hardest part.

What helps

Move first: jump, dance, run it out
Tell someone what you're excited about
Make something with the energy
Plan a soft landing for afterward

Piko gets along with Kumo. Piko brings the spark, and Kumo helps choose which idea to do first.

Where excitement comes from

Inside the body, excitement and nervousness are close cousins. Both bring a faster heartbeat, butterflies and a burst of energy. Often the main difference is the story we tell ourselves about what the feeling means.

A Harvard Business School study by Alison Wood Brooks tested this. People who said "I am excited" before a stressful task, such as singing or public speaking, did better than people who tried to calm down. The energy stayed the same. They just pointed it in a different direction.

Family therapists add one more idea: skip "calm down" and help kids tune in to where the energy is in their body. Once kids can name excitement, they can start to steer it.

If this is you today

For kids

That wiggly, fizzy feeling is your body saying "I can't wait!" You can jump it out, draw it out or tell somebody about it. If it gets too big, try three slow breaths and one big stretch.

For teens

Caring a lot about something is not cringe. The jitters before a game, a show or a first day are fuel. Try telling yourself "I'm excited" and see what happens. Then plan some downtime after, because the crash is real.

For grown-ups

"Calm down" can sound like "be less." Try "I can see you're so excited. Where should all that energy go?" Give it a job, a time and a place. Expect a dip afterward, and treat it with snacks and patience.