Center for Workplace Happiness

Aren’t smiles cool? Even us dogs smile and humans know just what we mean when we do. Mom knew a dog a loooong time ago who squinted like crazy when she smiled – she used her whole face!

Do you use your whole face when you smile? You know you do when those little muscles at the outside of your eyes make you squint a little bit too – those are the best smiles on humans and on dogs.

Next time you smile, make sure your eyes are smiling too. You’ll be flooding yourself and the person you’re smiling at with feel-good endorphins.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Are you addicted to the news? Mom sometimes calls me Bad News, so maybe she’s addicted to me!

Some people are addicted to the news – they listen all the time and worry about what they hear. There’s a difference between being informed and being marinated in the drumbeat of bad news. You can check your favorite news outlet while brushing your teeth in the morning, get caught up, and move on with your day. Keep news reports in perspective – remember, by definition, news is something abnormal that happens. Most of the world is blissfully normal – marinate yourself in the good things in your life, not the news.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

What new thing are you learning? Does it excite you? I love to learn new things – mom says I’m a fast learner with a short attention span. Someday I’ll learn what she means by that. Anyway, learning is great – it keeps you focused and fascinated.

In your work you probably learn something new pretty often but that’s not what I’m talking about – learn something that might not even have anything to do with animals. Maybe it’s a new language or how to knit or even golf – learning something new is a great way to decompress and de-stress.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Look around your workplace – are you there? If you looked around my place you’d see stuffed toys, a hard rubber chew or two and you’d know I’m a dog that loves toys. When people look around your workplace do they know what you love?

If you love kayaking, do they see pictures of rivers you’ve been on? If you love the ocean do they see seashells? If you love travel do they see pictures of the places you’ve been? Celebrate you at work – decorate your workplace with pieces of your life besides your work.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Aren’t smiles cool? Even us dogs smile and humans know just what we mean when we do. Mom knew a dog a loooong time ago who squinted like crazy when she smiled – she used her whole face!

Do you use your whole face when you smile? You know you do when those little muscles at the outside of your eyes make you squint a little bit too – those are the best smiles on humans and on dogs. Next time you smile, make sure your eyes are smiling too. You’ll be flooding yourself and the person you’re smiling at with feel-good endorphins.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Do you take all the days off that you’re entitled to? This is something I don’t understand about humans at all – most of you don’t take all your vacation days!! Yes, what you do is very important work. Yes, you love what you do and it’s a calling and most of the time it feeds your soul.

You know what else feeds your soul? Having a balanced life, and one of the best ways to do that is to take all the time off you’re entitled to. And do something fun or nothing at all – it doesn’t matter. Just take your days off because you earned them and you need them.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

What is that voice inside your head telling you about yourself? And if you just thought, I don’t have a little voice inside my head, that was the voice inside your head talking!

Most humans got programmed early to believe bad things about themselves – that they can’t do things right, they’re not smart or pretty or athletic enough – all kinds of bad things. And they heard them early and often enough that they believe those things, when they’re probably not even close to true! When that voice inside your head says something bad about you, just remember that’s an old fairy tale that was never true and you can ignore it.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Have you heard people talk about the power of being in the moment? What does that even mean? Shhhhh…here’s a secret…it means being more like me! OK, pretty much all dogs and cats and gerbils and goldfish live in the moment. We are good at it and you can be, too.

Instead of letting your brain chew over things that happened in the past or might happen in the future, let it really see, hear, smell, taste, touch and deeply feel what’s happening right this very minute. The power of it is that you won’t miss important things in your life while your brain is chewing over other things.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Want a brain trick that’ll help you solve problems and be happier? When something looks like it’s going wrong, find three good things about it.

Let’s pretend I was riding in the car and someone hit us from behind. That’s not good – that’s the way I get in and out of the car, so can I get out or am I stuck in here forever??? Three good things – I was in a crate so I didn’t go bouncing around, mom was buckled in so she didn’t either and the fire truck is here to get the back hatch open.

Finding three good things to focus on keeps you from focusing on all the bad things and helps you figure out the best next steps to take.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!

Do you hold grudges against people, or find it hard to forgive someone? I admit I’m pretty annoyed that the big orange cat can jump up on the fence way faster than I can run across the yard. Grrrrrrr….cats!!!

The cat doesn’t care that I’m annoyed with him, though – he probably doesn’t even know, and neither do the people you’re annoyed at. They don’t know and they don’t care that you’re mad or hurt or whatever – they’re just living their life. You’re the one that you’re hurting, not them. Forgiveness is the gift you give yourself. You don’t have to ever trust them or even speak to them again, but forgive them. Believe me, you’ll be healthier and happier when you learn to forgive.

I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!