Month: November 2018

Slow Down, You’re Moving Too Fast…

Ah, a little Simon and Garfunkel to start the day…

Mindfulness.  The practice of being in the moment, aware of and appreciating what you are doing in the moment, versus doing one thing while your mind races around other unrelated topics (and usually stirring up trouble!)

Slow down, you’re moving too fast, you’ve got to make the morning last, just kicking down the cobblestones, looking for fun and feelin’ groovy!

Wow, the image those lyrics bring to mind relaxes me immediately.

I realize that as life dumps stuff on me in a day or a week, my ability to be in the moment is oftentimes compromised as my mind replays conversations, problem analytics and worries over and over, accomplishing nothing except keeping me in an agitated state.

The dishes get done, the bed is made, the dog is walked, but all while my mind is going in circles about a million different things.

Slow down, you’re moving too fast….

Mindfulness.  

The ability to be focused on the immediate task at hand.  It is an age old practice of staying centered and calm and allowing your mind to be quiet. Gratefulness and appreciation for the immediate sensations of doing the dishes-the wonder of water, the amazement that water comes from the ocean right to your sink as you wash dishes that held the food that nourishes you that started out in a field somewhere tended by a stranger.

Connectedness.  Appreciation. Gratitude.

Today while I contemplated what to write for you, my mind was jumping from topic to topic.  I couldn’t decide. I followed some internet breadcrumbs and ended up at a site that had mindfulness gathas (short prayers).  As I read them my mind felt immediately calmer and I felt myself physically relax. And, a blog post was born so that I could share this with you.

Take a look at these short prayers and see how they could be very useful to you as you move through the day.

Washing Dishes                                         Going to Sleep
Each dish I wash                                        Falling asleep at last
Is my most cherished child                   I vow with all beings
Each moment contains                           To enjoy the dark and the silence
Boundless love                                            And rest in the vast unknown.

The mindfulness prayers:
https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/buddhism/2004/02/gathas-for-mindfulness.aspx

And, listen to some Simon and Garfunkel today, you can never go wrong with them! https://youtu.be/So0ZrTwf8vI 

LET’S CONNECT! If you would like to talk 1:1 with me, simply CLICK HERE to set up a free, 1 hr personal call. I can’t wait to hear from you!!!

Halt the Music…There’s a Problem!

As I went through my work day yesterday, I was struck by just how happy I was.  The soft sounds of success were the soundtrack in my mind. I was appreciating my staff and how amazing and dedicated they are.  I was struck by the clients love of their pets and their willingness to invest time and money into keeping their furry family healthy.  I was feeling confident and communicating my thoughts well, and then…………SCREEEECH…………HALT THE MUSIC!

Mrs So-Nso wasn’t gonna hear my concern that her puppy was severely underweight.  “She eats all the time!” she barked at me when I suggested increasing the calories.  My shields flared into action surrounding me with a wall of protection against the energy she had thrown at me.  

Now, a few years ago, I would have gotten angry at her outburst and unwillingness to hear me.  I would have raised my voice, gotten a tone and mentally written her off as a “difficult client”.  Isn’t that so easy for us to do sometimes? Has this ever happened to you?

We write people off and get angry at them for their choices.  It’s the role of our ego to keep us safe and it does it’s job exceedingly well.

I kept repeating my message in different words trying to find the language she spoke.  Every option I picked was met with resistance. Why wasn’t she hearing me?  When we can keep our ego out of discussions they tend to go much better.

When you can see that your ego is flaring and trying to protect you it can feel like a wall has risen around you and the self talk in your head might get louder, all as protection against the perceived threat to your life.

Eventually, Mrs So-Nso’s sister picked up the puppy and was shocked by the inadequate weight.  There it was, the answer to my prayer. The sister. The soft sounds of success started to play again!

When we know we are right but don’t have to prove it, when we afford the client the honor of knowing they are doing the best they can, when we can allow a higher power to work magic, then we can release all the human protective sequences that get triggered in a situation like this.

How do you react when your message is not being received?  Do you get tense, louder, or hear that self-talk ramp up?  Whatever it is that you feel, it can be changed.

We all have the power to react to situations in a way that keeps us safe and powerful, yet also affords the other person the same things.  That is when the magic happens. Your belief that both parties are divine allows you to move beyond the human ego response and find solutions.  And, if solutions cannot be found, you can leave the issue in the exam room and move on with a clear heart, knowing you did your best, and it is out of your hands.  

So, my encouragement to you today is to stand in your power and your divinity and give the same to those that you interact with today.  It’s a practice, but gets easier as you go along.

If you’d like to talk more about your power and the role ego plays in your life, send me an email or sign up to talk with me one-on-one here: https://calendly.com/healthyselfdvm. Tell me what is bothering you today.

Turn One of “Those Days” into Just Another Day

Have you ever had one of “those days” where it seemed that you cared more about something than anyone else?  

One of those days where it seems you just can’t get your message across to someone?

I have had those conversations. For example: Talking with a client on the phone who has a pet that I think really needs to come in and be seen. I’ll go through all the reasons I think the pet should come in, all the while getting more and more frustrated about the situation.  I can feel my blood pressure rising as I get tense in my body, my throat gets tight, I talk louder and punctuate my words and interrupt the client on the phone all because I desperately want to help that pet. Have you ever had a conversation like that?

Let’s say the pet doesn’t come in for whatever reason.  I am left feeling angry at myself and the client and worried about the pet.  I take that anger home with me that night and find myself replaying the conversation over and over and over again keeping myself in a state of anger and worry.  I know a lot of us do this. It’s a very human thing to do but it really isn’t helping you deal with the emotions, it is just keeping you in it.

That cycle – replaying and reliving the emotions of a difficult conversation is what I have learned to break, and you can too.

One idea that I use, is to stop and notice when I have that loop going in my head about how mad I am that the client is not caring enough about their pet, and how worried I am about the pet.

I stop my thoughts in their track and replace them with the thought that the client is doing the best they can with where they are in life and their spiritual evolution and while it may not be up to my standards, it is the best they can do.  Whew. When I remind myself of this belief that I have, it immediately lightens the load I need to carry.

I follow it up with a prayer for the client. “I release any responsibility I feel for the decision the client is making.  I have done my best. I believe the client is doing their best and please help them continue to seek the attention that their pet needs.”  Immediately I feel more calm and centered as I release the responsibility to a higher power.

I will also include the pet in the prayer.  “Please take the pain and discomfort away from this pet and give them peace and healing.”

When I hear myself going back to the angry replay I stop, hit pause, and fast forward to my prayer.  

How many times do we repeat scenarios in our heads keeping the negative emotions in our experience?  This is a key factor in burn-out because it is draining. Not only are you drained by the initial experience, but you are drained by the repeated replays of it.

STOP yourself when you see yourself doing this.  Replace it with the thought that you did the best you could and that is all you can ever do.  You cannot make people do things, you can only educate and offer. The rest is up to them.

And so, as my responsibility to you to offer my knowledge, I am offering a free consultation with me about anything that is bothering you right now. Let’s troubleshoot the issue and let me help guide you to that knowledge that is already inside of you that has the answers. This is my mission, to help relieve the suffering of those in this field and create a stronger, healthier and happier community.

 You can reach me via email or set up a time to chat here: https://calendly.com/healthyselfdvm  

Stop the Self-Sabotage

This profession has a long standing heritage of self-abuse.  We have super long, busy days and have historically not taken time for eating, bathroom breaks, or even a 5 minute breather to recenter.  It is, unfortunately, sometimes considered a weakness to want those things for ourselves.

I have been acutely aware lately of how much my mood is affected by how well I have eaten that day.  And I don’t mean, was it all organic, limited ingredient foods necessarily. I mean, even just eating 3 meals and some snacks during the day!  That is the way I tend to show my stress first – I don’t eat, or I eat junk food and sweets. I can see how much the way I fuel my body is directly related to my ability to stay centered, focused and emotionally balanced.

We all have those ways we sabotage ourselves such as abusing food, sweets, alcohol, exercise, sleep.  What is your self-sabotage pattern? I encourage you to notice what you do to your body when you are stressed or worried. See the pattern and commit, just for that day, to change it. It doesn’t need to be a commitment for the rest of your life, just start with today.   Then I challenge you to do the same thing the next day.  And… you see where I am going with this!!

So, take a few minutes and acknowledge the ways you don’t support yourself and take one small step to be better one day at a time.  That’s how a habit starts, a commitment to do better one day at a time.

And as always, if anything you read resonates with you today, or if you have any questions about these ideas, please CLICK HERE to set up a free, 1-hr personal call with me.  I’d love to hear from you!