Veterinarian Life – Heal ThySELF DVM

Until Next Time…

Today is the last blog I will write for awhile.

I have been doing weekly blogs or videos for about 3 yrs now. I have been through many life changes during that time, and have learned and grown a lot.

I have written blogs at the last minute and I have had them ready to go weeks in advance. I have been disappointed when no one commented and I have been soothed, knowing that my words may have comforted or nudged someone into action, even without me knowing.

You see, this project was borne out of my desire to help my colleagues navigate the emotional toll of this profession. It came at a time when there was no acknowledgement that there is a real issue with our profession and our mental health. I wanted to change that.

I believe that my words helped, in a cosmic energetic way, to bring light to this subject.

I know that this blog has helped me heal, learn more about myself and truly ground my beliefs into an unshakable faith in myself.

I hope this blog has helped you navigate your days, as well, whether in the profession or not. We are all humans, and we deal with the same core issues – wanting to be happy, healthy and fulfilled.

For now, then, it is goodbye, but it is because other things are calling my attention. It is a really exciting time for me and I see others stepping up to the plate to continue the discussion! They may not use my words, but for now, my job of using my voice to make the profession and the world a better place is done in this venue.

I am not going away forever. I will still post when I have something to say, I will not stay silent if I know there is something worth saying.

Thank you for giving me your most valuable asset, your time, and reacting, sharing and commenting on my posts. I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity.

To those who are in my inner circle on this adventure –Jana, Teri and Lena -thank you for your unwavering support and expertise. I could not have created Heal ThySELF, DVM as easily as I did without you.

To everyone reading this I have one last request: Please take the time to take care of yourself. We give so much to others that we must fiercely refill our cups so that we don’t run on empty. Love yourself, love your family and friends and love your job. Love allows for sustainability.

Till next time, remember that even if you do not believe it today:
YOU are a rockstar and an amazing, unique individual who is needed and loved by many.

Namaste.

Are You Picking Up the Wrong Poop?

Picking up after our dogs is unconditional love, for sure!

Just a really quick reminder today:
We choose whether to pick up other people’s emotional poop!

Picking up and taking on other people’s emotional poop is NOT your job. Just leave it at your feet and walk on by!

Have a great day and choose wisely what you pick up and carry with you.

Choose Your Thoughts as Carefully as Your Food

I began an Ayurvedic eating plan a few weeks ago with the belief that it will alleviate some of the nagging health issues I am experiencing.

The eating plan started with an evaluation of my current diet and health and then I started the cleanse. I ate more good food during that 3 weeks than I have eaten in a long time!

But this experience brought up a question:
Why are we so focused on eating healthy, but we ingest toxic thoughts all day long without hesitation.

We take in, repeat, relive and incorporate those toxic thoughts daily. If they were food – grease, processed food, salt – we would say no, that’s not healthy for me, and make a better choice.

But toxic thoughts? Anger, resentment, fear, frustration – those we just happily ingest day after day and don’t think they have any effect on our health.

What if those thoughts are just as unhealthy as some foods? They can cause physical illness and pain, prevent us from connecting with loved ones, and chip away at our humanity.

I know I’m even more aware of those toxic thoughts creeping into my mind now, and more excited than ever to say NO to them. How about you?

Just some food for thought 😉 today.

UNMASKED

One of the beliefs I live by is that ‘I always do my best’; which is one of the agreements from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, a Toltec Wisdom Book. I give myself that gift every day, and it definitely helps get me through those draining days.

Today’s blog is about me, ‘doing the best I can’, writing something for you!

My new job is a big change for me! Although I love it and feel welcomed and supported, it is totally different than the last job of 13 years. My body needs to adjust to the new schedule. Our bodies are the receptacle of the emotional baggage we carry from our lives, and they demonstrate it as dis-ease (aches/pains/illness). My monkey mind (that part that is tasked with keeping me safe) is unsure about this new experience, and is working hard to keep me “safe”. It’s trying to convince me that I have made a mistake in taking this new job by showing me a load of totally imagined, horrible things that could go wrong in the future; even though the present is going really well.

My body is caught between my monkey mind, my affirmations and firm belief that this is actually good for me, and a new demanding schedule. My body responds to the monkey mind by showing me where I don’t feel good – for me, it shows up with a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders, which unfortunately, triggers a migraine.

I tell you all of this today, because my word for the year is UNMASKED. *Disclaimer* I am not sure, as I write this, if I found the term ‘unmasked’ from Brené Brown’s newest book, Dare to Lead, or if it was from Byron Katie’s newest book, A Mind at Home with Itself: How Asking Four Questions Can Free Your Mind, Open Your Heart, and Turn Your World Around? To be honest, I don’t have the energy to check which one it was. And that, my friends, is me being UNMASKED! I don’t have all the answers, and I am going through things…just like you are. What I do have is an unshakable faith in myself and the Universe that I do have the skills and knowledge to move through this uncomfortable time, and come out the other side even stronger.

Today’s blog about how I am doing, is the best I can do today! I have a certain amount of time right now to write for you, and this is the best I can do. My hope is that it shows you a glimpse into how I view the relationship of my monkey mind (ego – that part that is only there to keep me safe), my beliefs and my physical body. It is a triad that is cosmically set up to inform me of what is in my best interest, and where I want to go.

As I allow my body and monkey mind to reflect beliefs I no longer need by trying to scare me about future happenings and triggering a migraine, I share this thought with you:

I always do the best I can, and I know I am in the right place at the right time. And…I will be so much more of me when I get to the other side of this!

Tell me, what are you going through today?
What is your monkey mind trying to tell you today? Is it true?
Is your monkey mind trying to scare you with future scenarios?
How is your body feeling today? Is there something you could do to show it that you are listening to it, and love it, even when it seems to be failing you?

As I end this blog about my humanity and UNMASK myself in front of all of you, I encourage you to do the same (at least privately). Explore what your monkey mind is trying to save you from, and how your body is reacting to those beliefs. How do you want to feel, and what beliefs would serve you better?

Let me know how these ideas resonate with you by commenting below!

It’s Not Always About You!

Taking things personally is so easy to do! We do it without even thinking of it!

When someone attacks us verbally, or makes comments about us to others, it is so easy to fall into the trap of taking it personally.

What does taking it personally mean? It means that we make the comment about us, we put meaning to it that satisfies our need to be right, our need to be safe and our need to defend ourselves (thank you monkey-mind). When we take something personally we are assuming that we know what the other person meant and wanted us to feel.

Taking things personally, making it about US, is a great way to create drama, emotion and stress where there may not need to be any. Let’s look at an example.

We hear someone say that “we are just in it for the money.” Right away our hackles go up and we are ready for a fight. But this only happens if we have taken it personally. If we have allowed their comment to affect our belief in ourselves or affect how we believe others think about us. If you can allow that first flush of anger wash over and through you and take a step back from it, you can see that the comment is a reflection of THAT person’s beliefs, not yours. Perhaps THAT person feels some sort of conflict about charging clients, their clients’ ability to afford them, their own finances and debt etc.

Or a client tells us that we don’t know what we are talking about, they found real info on Google. If we take that comment personally then we are insulted and angry which can spiral out of control as we re-play the comment in our head days and weeks later. But what if, when they say that, you can allow it to wash over you and not land inside? What if you can recognize that they are entitled to their belief about you, but it has nothing to do with you!

Not taking things personally also sometimes means that I have to let go of the need to be right and the need to be the right person for everyone. How often do you find yourself in a disagreement because you need to be right? What if both you and the other person can both be right? Wow! Mind blown! Both of you can be right, and still not agree with each other. This sort of realization is so liberating and allows for all kinds of expansion in your relationships at work and at home.

So I encourage all of you to practice taking a step back whenever you hear anything that flares your defensive emotional muscles. Take a breath. Ask yourself:

“Does what I just heard have anything to do with me?”
“What would I be like if I knew that others’ opinions do not matter to me?”

How would it feel to not react in anger the next time you are confronted? Not taking things personally keeps you from getting on an emotional merry-go-round that just keeps spinning.

It doesn’t mean that you are ignoring the situation. It simply means that you have moved past the monkey-mind induced negative emotions into the realm of self-care and finding solutions that allow you to feel better.

Please let me know how not taking things personally allows you to be more of the person you know you are. How does your day flow when things roll more easily off your back?

You can contact me via pamela@healthyselfdvm.com or set up a personal free 1-on-1 chat about this by visiting my scheduling site. And, as always, continue to be the wonderful, compassionate rock-star badasses that I know you are!

How Can Roller Coasters Mirror Life?

I love riding roller coasters. I feel so alive on them and that feeling continues throughout the day. The thrill and anticipation of the uphills, the drama and unknown of the falls, the twists and turns that are unexpected. Kinda sounds a bit like life, eh?

My life coach, Jana Kellam, reminded me of this idea the other day and I wanted to share it with you. We all experience times when it seems that fantastic highs are followed by crushing lows. We get depressed and exhausted dealing with this roller coaster of life.

But what if we could embrace the lows as much as we do the highs? What if we saw the lows as a chance to get clear on what we are wanting more of in life (the highs) and sought out ways to get them. What if the lows signal a chance to explore new ways of thinking or acting to allow ourselves to return to a more neutral state? What if the lows are the only way we can appreciate the highs?

What if Roller Coasters never went down?

We have all heard that all we as veterinarians do all day is snuggle puppies and kittens? We generally respond “wouldn’t that be nice?” But would it? Wouldn’t doing that all day every day get boring? I submit to you that the only way to recognize and appreciate the happy things in life is to experience some less than happy things. It is the contrast in life that is exhilarating and allows for our growth.

If we embrace the lows as a way to grow and learn about ourselves we can level them out a bit or stay in them for less time, but experiencing them is always going to happen.

So experience life like the roller coaster it is and allow yourself to look for the hidden gems in the lows as well as milk the highs for every last drop of deliciousness!