In this week's episode, I pull back the curtain and share some exciting changes coming to Joyful DVM and Vet Life Academy. 

I also share how you can Reboot your Vet Life and career with the help of our brand new course: Vet Life Reboot. In just six weeks you can improve work-life balance and decrease stress. We'll be digging deep into the 5 Components of work-life balance: 

1. Self Confidence
2. Personal Efficiency
3. Boundaries
4. Mind Management
5. Future Focus

Click here to learn more about Vet Life Reboot.

Veterinary Work-Life Balance is an interesting thing.

In Vet Med we often lament about not having it ...

and we identify it as a must-have when searching for new jobs.

Many of us believe the perfect job can make work-life balance a reality for us.

So, we actively seek work-life balance, as if it is something to be found...

as if it's, something we've misplaced or just not come across yet.

We have it all wrong.

Work-life balance will never be found because it doesn't exist outside of us and our own experiences.

Work-life balance must be created.

Good News: We are perfectly equipped to create it!

I've identified 5 Components that make up work-life balance:

1. Boundaries 
2. Personal Efficiency 
3. Self Confidence 
4. Mind Management 
5. Future Focus

In this episode, I take a closer look at these 5 Components of Work-Life Balance in Veterinary Medicine.

The ability to fully develop these components is influenced greatly by our Vet Life Profile. Once we've identified our Vet Life Profile, we'll understand why creating work-life balance has been so hard in the past, and we'll discover how we can start moving forward right away.

Our Vet Life Profile changes over time.

Wonder where you are today?

To take a quick quiz to identify your personal Vet Life Profile, understand why creating Work-Life Balance has been such a struggle, and find out how you can leverage your Vet Life Profile to start creating Work-Life Balance right away, Click Here: https://joyfuldvm.com/quiz

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

The veterinary environment can be rough. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally.

We often blame the clients, and their behavior, for our experience. But, it doesn't start there.
It starts closer to home.

Many of us experience work environments where gossiping and back-stabbing are the norm...
... where "us against them" is common...
... where nobody seems happy, and nobody feels safe.

In these environments, we turn on each other. We become self-righteous. We judge harshly. We become control-freaks and perfectionists. We think these things are useful. (They aren't).

Evidence of this can be found within the walls of our organizations, and also in how we interact outside of those walls.
> Every time we bash a neighboring clinic, it's proof.
> Every time we talk negatively about a referring colleague to a client, it's proof.
> Every time we believe there is an authority to fight against, it's proof.

So what are we actually trying to achieve with all of this anger? We are just trying to feel better.

See, anger is familiar, and it feels more powerful than fear and uncertainty. It feels justified and we justify it through blame.

But what are we really angry about? It usually boils down to one simple concept: The way things are is different than the way we believe they should be... and if they were different, we'd be happy.

We think we know best how things should be. We believe we don't have any power to change how things are. We believe that the way things are is the cause of our current quality of life.

When we believe we don't have power over our own lives, we often feel afraid. That fear takes many forms....

• fear of patient outcomes
• fear of client reactions
• fear of getting fired
• fear of not making enough money
• fear of paying off our debt
• fear of making mistakes
• fear of negative reviews
• fear of board complaints

You get the idea. Bottom Line: Fear feels terrible. Fear feels life-threatening.

Anger feels much better. It has become the veterinary industry's coping mechanism. Rather than tackle that which we are afraid of, we become angry.

Anger brings a false sense of control and builds a community of sorts with others who share in our anger. We become a profession of very angry people. That anger bleeds into every crevice of our hospitals, and onto our profession as a whole.

We think the solution is for other people to behave differently. We think the solution is for things to be different than they are. Thankfully, that is not the solution. The solution is in learning just a few things...

1. Fear is just an emotion, and its presence isn't a problem
2. Anger is always optional and gives away our power
3. There are very few things we control in this job, and that's okay
4. We can always choose to do our best in any situation
5. What happens next is something we decide for ourselves, always

Vet Med is simply the catalyst for Personal Growth. The time we spend cannibalizing each other in this profession is time we could be spending getting to know ourselves, and growing into the people we are meant to be. Instead, many of us stunt our own growth through anger, blame, and victim mentality. There is no power in that place. 

Your future is brighter than that. You dim your own light when you spend your energy focusing on that which you have no power to change. That same energy, focused intention

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Remember the Bluebirds I talked about back in Episode 11?

They taught me a great lesson, which I shared on the podcast, about how to overcome obstacles.

(If you haven't listened to Episode 11, consider checking it out.)

Turns out, they had more wisdom to share.

Perseverance:

The ability to keep doing something despite how hard it is and how long it takes to achieve success.

When we graduate with our veterinary degrees and get out into the real world, it's hard.

Really hard.

We decide we're doing it wrong.

Many of us quit.

We forget about the 3-5 year learning window we enter post-graduation... and again every time we change jobs.

We hold ourselves to success standards that are unrealistic, and undefined.

We compare our newbie veterinary selves to those seasoned through many many more years of experience.

When we cut and run, we feel better...

but, we miss four amazing gifts that only perseverance can provide.

I tell you all about it, and share an unexpected surprise from the Bluebirds, in this episode. 

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Uncertainty creates fear.

Veterinary Medicine is full of uncertainty.

It's no wonder many of us feel stressed, anxious, and worried a lot of the time.

Under all of those emotions is fear.

We've tried our best to eliminate the uncertainty.

We've become control freaks & perfectionists.

(okay, okay... so maybe those aren't new traits... but they are more dominant now) ​​
We've also become increasingly frustrated and angry.

When the humans don't follow our rules​​​​, when the patients don't get better as we plan, we feel lots of things.

Under it all is fear.

Fear of judgment.

Fear of their potential anger.

​​​​​​​​​​​Fear of their potential actions.

And that fear feeds on our own insecurities.

It feels terrible.

We try everything we can to avoid, or quickly eliminate our fear.

It's exhausting.

It's also totally unnecessary. ​​

See, the fear is not coming from the unexpected way our cases and client interactions play out.

It's more instinctual than that, and it's not a problem until we let it drive our decisions and beliefs.

The solution isn't Stopping Fear... it's learning to use fear-filled situations as an opportunity to tap into Empowerment.

Vet Med gives us lots of opportunities to practice this skill, and I've created a process to make it easier.​​​​​​​​

To get a copy of the ​Five-Step Process for Transitioning from Fear to Empowerment pdf, CLICK HERE

This week, ​​I talk about the Impact of Fear in Veterinary Medicine and walk through some specific examples to show you exactly take control of your emotional well-being in any situation.

Empowerment opens all doors to the future you want for yourself.

Let's get to work!

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Five-Step Process for Transitioning from Fear to Empowerment pdf

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Fear is a powerful motivator.

It makes perfect since when we remember the original purpose of this emotion...

Self Preservation.

Fear is part of our built-in alert system.

Super useful when our ancestors were being hunted by predators, not so much today.

The alert system still exists... and it’s really good at sending off false alarms.

Fear is so instinctual that it is often the first thing we feel in any uncertain situation.

Uncertainty creates fear.

Fear drives the desire to withdraw... to get away from the uncertain (scary) situation at hand.

This instinctual series of events is REACTIONARY.

When we live our lives through a sequence of reactionary actions, we give away our power...

we abandon our ability to choose...

we become victims of the things we can't control.

This is all optional.

Empowerment trumps fear every. single. time.

When empowerment exists concurrently with fear, the impact of fear is diminished.

Fear may be unpredictable, unavoidable, and instinctual... but Empowerment is deliberate.

Empowerment can be created On Demand as we embrace our ability to master our own mindset and intentionally chose what we believe in any situation.

Wondering how to intentionally create empowerment when you are feeling afraid? In this podcast episode, I share the Five-Step Process for Transitioning from Fear to Empowerment. 

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Feeling angry with your veterinary clients because they just don't get it?

Tired of the complaining about scheduling appointments, curbside service, and the inability to get in same-day?

Wishing they'd just chill out and understand what you're going through?

You aren't alone.

But it's not just veterinary clinics experiencing this Extra from clients.

And it's not just veterinary clinics turning to social media to publicly Client Shame the behavior.

Not Cool, Friends.

Sure, this passive-aggressive behavior is driven by your frustration with your cranky clients... but not all of your clients are cranky... and your best ones may actually be driven away by your PSA.

(It's not going to fix the problems with the cranky ones, either).

Here's some tough truth:

Your most difficult clients today were also your most difficult clients before the pandemic...

and you let them get away with this type of behavior...

you taught them to treat you this way by not sticking to your hospital policies

(or not having policies at all).

A Client Shaming PSA is not going to fix this for you.

In this Episode: 

1. I share one strategy that will effectively stop (most) of this behavior.

2. I shed some light on what really drove you to try the Client Shaming approach.

3. I explain why, six months into this new normal, it seems like clients just aren't grasping this new way of doing things.

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

How's your mood?

Think back over the last several days, weeks, or even months...

How have you been feeling?

These may seem like random questions, but the answers explain Everything about the progress you've been making (or not making) toward creating the life you want.

Your mood is a direct reflection of your Net Emotional State.

So, if you're spending most of your waking hours stressed, angry, or unhappy then there is no reason to beat yourself up for not making progress toward your goals.

It makes perfect scientific sense to me why you are stuck.

But, do you know why?

Curious? Check out Part 3 of this Vet Med Joy Stealers series.

By the end, you'll understand what's really been going, and have greater awareness about what you can actually do about it. 

(Your options might surprise you!)

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

How are you choosing your clients?

Are you intentionally cultivating the clientele you serve?

Or, are you just accepting every potential client who seeks your services?

Did you even realize you had a choice?

You Do!

What about your compensation...

Are you paying yourself adequately as a practice owner?

Do you understand how you can increase your compensation as an associate?

Do you know how to move up in compensation as support staff?

If your answer is no, then recognize that you are drawing conclusions in the absence of actual information.

It's time to have a conversation!

How about your time?

Believing you don't have time to live your life the way you want?

You'll prove yourself true every. single. time. 

A scarcity mindset left unchecked has undesirable consequences in our veterinary careers and in our lives.

To learn more about how scarcity is a joy-stealer in Veterinary Medicine, check out Episode 17

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Vet Med is an interesting career.

Often a Love / Hate relationship.

Spectacularly rewarding, and crushingly devastating all at the same time.

The events that occur in veterinary medicine are just part of the job.

The way that we respond to the events, is optional.

OPTIONAL.

That's really hard to see when a client is blasting us on social media, or a six-month-old puppy dies during a routine spay.

Frustration, Fear, and Sadness are appropriate emotional responses... 

But then we take it too far...

We make it personal.

We tie up those events, and our resultant emotions, with our personal professional abilities and individual self-worth.

Friends, those things are not connected.

Unhappy clients and poor patient outcomes often steal our joy, but that an optional consequence.

Check out this Episode 16 to find out why.

Music Credit: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay