February 2018 – Heal ThySELF DVM

‘Q 24 hr, Your Daily Dose’ of Vet Med Success

Ok. Big breath here…

I am doing a daily FB live post every weekday at 5:30 am EST and I invite you to join me!

In these vlogs, I will highlight the successes we each experience, as well as ways to reignite your love of veterinary medicine and celebrate you, my amazing colleagues – whether you are a doctor, staff or management.

You can view the 1st ever Q 24 hr, Your Daily Dose vlog on the Heal ThySELF DVM Facebook page!

To be honest with you, I was surprised how nervous I was doing today’s video. I have done other live videos, spoken in front of groups, and created this newsletter for months now. I believe I was nervous because I feel so passionately about speaking up about my love for this profession as well as wanting to uplift and support all of you.

As of this morning I had not decided on a topic, several kept presenting themselves. As I watched the clock tick away at my available time, I noticed that I was feeling physically ill-a headache had started behind my left eye, I was a little nauseous and I was jittery. From experience, I know this is my bodies way of telling me this thing I am thinking about is a good thing, but that I need to ACT not sit and wait.

So I turned on the camera and did it extemporaneous. I could feel my symptoms dissolve. Not totally, but much less uncomfortable.

This is the extra lesson for you, my subscribers. Your body holds the key to your happiness. Your body’s sensations and your emotions are your GPS to the life that you want. Start to notice the emotions and the sensations that accompany your thoughts and actions. Lower vibration emotions like anger and sadness are indicators that you need to tune into another way of thinking or acting to get where you want to go. Uncomfortable sensations can mean the same thing. This week, begin to notice how your body feels and what emotions you are feeling. How are they related to your actions and experiences?

Here is a tip I learned early on as I was starting to tune into my own personal GPS. When you have a decision between two things or two ways of thinking about something say each one outloud as you put your hand over your heart. Pay attention to how your body feels as you say the thoughts. Does your body feel bigger and more relaxed or does your body feel cramped, tense and small? The answer that makes you feel bigger and more relaxed is the one that is right for you. It is your GPS pointing you in the right direction. Practice tuning into your GPS this week and let me know how it feels to you.

You can always reach me at pamela@healthyselfdvm.com or schedule a 1:1 session here to see how you can use this technique and others to create the life you always wanted.

How to Use Your Boundaries and Energy

Today I got a wild hair to create a vlog for your viewing pleasure! In this video, I examine the importance of maintaining boundaries while layering in the concept of energy awareness.

The boundary discussion was first introduced in my blog titled ‘Where Are You On the Boundary Continuum‘ where my coach, Jana Kellam, explores the different forms of boundaries within relationships.

Please view the video by visiting this link.

And, as always, please leave me comments about how these concepts and ideas resonate with you with you at pamela@healthyselfdvm.com.

If you would like to talk one on one with me, set up a time here for a free 1 hr conversation where we discuss how you can create healthy boundaries and become more aware of your energy profile!

Give Yourself Permission to Fail

I hate to fail. I don’t like to think of myself as a failure. I hate when I overpromise and underdeliver. And that is exactly what I am doing this week with this blog.

I had planned on sharing another blog about boundaries, this one from a different perspective to last week’s. I had it all planned out in my head. It was going to be good. It was going to make you salivate with excitement and possibilities! And it was halfway down on paper and then… then I didn’t finish it (wuh, wuh). I put too much on my plate (new and exciting ideas I wanted to play with while they were fresh so I could bring them to you), and it all got in the way of finishing this week’s boundaries blog.

So, here I sit with a choice. I can beat myself up and pull an all-nighter to get the blog done and out today, but know it won’t be the best because I don’t work well under that kind of pressure.

Or I could skip a week and not share any new ideas that might inspire you this week. Not what I like to do with my colleagues.

Or I could write a blog about my failure, and in doing so, learn from it and let you experience working through the angst of feeling like a failure. In failing to finish the originally planned blog, I created a chance to learn about myself. I created the chance to be vulnerable. I created the chance to learn what it is that makes us human.

I played with the idea that I failed. What story did I tell myself? In the veterinary field we are all highly motivated, results-oriented people. Lives depend on us — whether actual life and death situations, or keeping the doors open and paying staff.

What words do you hear when you have failed at something? Do you hear “I am stupid” or “I am lazy” or “I am a failure”?

Take a minute and consider if these things are true.

Are you stupid? I bet you can find evidence that you aren’t.
Are you lazy? Look at your calendar and I am sure you can see that you aren’t.
Are you a failure? Well, when asked directly like that, it is very obvious that you are not a failure.

You succeed despite having setbacks. You know that even when things don’t work out the way you wanted, you will survive. You are a rockstar badass who continues to learn and move forward with grace and compassion.

And, another important point I want to make here. Any words that follow “I am” are extremely important and influence your beliefs about yourself. So when you say, “I am a failure” or “I am depressed” or “I am sad” you can start to take on those qualities as a full-time persona. Your brain hears those words and says, “Ok. You are sad. Always. Here is how you will go through life.” So be very careful what words follow “I am.” Try inserting the word “feel”. As in “I feel sad.” Your brain interprets that very differently and allows it to be a transient emotion vs a way of life.

So, for today, I feel like I failed you. But I guess in failing, I actually was able to grow as a human and shed light on something that you may be grappling with as well. Failure. So this blog is experiential learning for me as well as for you. Failure is just a way to check in with how you talk to yourself and how you view life. Use the sense of failure as a challenge to grow. Admitting when you have failed and moving on with the lessons learned is powerful magic.

Let me know how you deal with failures. Please reach out to me if you want to explore new ways of framing failure in your own mind so that you can live the life of your dreams. I can be reached at pamela@healthyselfdvm.com.

Until next week!