How Can You Be as Happy as This Cat?
Happy Act Happy Week! And if you’re not happy and you know it, it’s OK to not be able to give an Oscar-winning performance. In this week’s newsletter I’ll help you find your way back to happy with a few mental wellbeing tools you can use any time, in the privacy of your own head. Or you can just watch funny cat videos - whatever works for you is good.
Have you ever thought about our amazing range of emotions and how quickly they can switch up, based on what’s happening around us? Research at UC Berkley identified 27 distinctly different emotional states of mind, and also showed that they are interconnected, allowing us to slide easily and quickly between them. What are the 27 emotions they identified through a research study with over 800 participants? Here you go: admiration, adoration, aesthetic appreciation, amusement, anger, anxiety, awe, awkwardness, boredom, calmness, confusion, craving, disgust, empathic pain, entrancement, excitement, fear,...
I'd Like to Compliment You on Your Complimenting Skills!
Quick – when was the last time you gave someone a compliment? I hope it was sometime today, because today is National Compliment Day. Actually, I hope you’re in the habit of giving compliments. If not, keep reading, because giving compliments to others has many benefits for you!
Since smiling is a side-effect of compliments, let’s explore the power of the smile. When you smile, your brain releases endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, three of your body’s feel-good chemicals. Also, when you see someone smile, your brain releases those same feel-good neurotransmitters. If you need another good reason to smile more, researchers in Scotland found that people who smile and make eye contact are consistently ranked higher on the “attractiveness” scale. But wait – there’s more! (No, I’m not turning into an infomercial…promise!) Noted aging and development researcher Ernest L. Abel studied 196 baseball players and found that...
I'd Like to Compliment You on Your Complimenting Skills!
Quick – when was the last time you gave someone a compliment? I hope it was sometime today, because today is National Compliment Day. Actually, I hope you’re in the habit of giving compliments. If not, keep reading, because giving compliments to others has many benefits for you!
Since smiling is a side-effect of compliments, let’s explore the power of the smile. When you smile, your brain releases endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, three of your body’s feel-good chemicals. Also, when you see someone smile, your brain releases those same feel-good neurotransmitters. If you need another good reason to smile more, researchers in Scotland found that people who smile and make eye contact are consistently ranked higher on the “attractiveness” scale. But wait – there’s more! (No, I’m not turning into an infomercial…promise!) Noted aging and development researcher Ernest L. Abel studied 196 baseball players and found that...
Easing Interactions with Difficult Clients
Do you have to deal with someone who’s difficult? Maybe angry, defensive, egotistical, greedy – whatever they are, they just suck the life out of you?
Instead of dreading your interactions with them, try this – feel compassion for them.
Can you imagine going through life knowing that people don’t like you very much? And believe me, they know! Think of them as kind of broken, because in a way they are.
When you can feel for them instead of against them it helps you feel better. And maybe the interactions with them will go better, too!
I’m Sandy Weaver and just like Kacey, I love veterinarians!
How to Build Up Your Own Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is something a lot of people struggle with – you, too, sometimes?
We are usually much harder on ourselves than on the people in our lives. That’s a habit developed in childhood and it doesn’t serve us well at all – listening to all that negative self-talk in your head guts your self-confidence.
Try this to build yourself back up – once a day, focus on something that you did really well that day or the day before and feel the pride of a task well-done.
If you journal, make this part of your journaling routine. If you practice regular affirmations or meditation, make it part of that time. Focus on success and feel your self-confidence soar.
I’m Sandy Weaver and just like Kacey, I love veterinarians!
This Minute is About You - Yes, YOU
Do you sometimes feel like, no matter what you do, that you’re not making a very big difference in the world? Trust me, you’re wrong about that – here’s what’s really going on.
Our strengths and talents feel very natural and organic to us, so we take them for granted. It’s easy for me to distill brain research into concepts most people can easily grasp, and it’s easy for you to visit with a patient and feel the things that could be wrong with them even though they can’t speak words to you.
You make a difference for your patients, for their owners, for your team, for your family and friends and everyone you touch in life.
You matter, because no one else can do what you do with the heart and soul you pour into doing it.
I’m Sandy Weaver and just like Kacey, I love veterinarians!
Walk a Mile in Their Crocs
Do you ever look at other veterinarians and think they’re so much more together than you are?
I love my veterinarian a lot and hope she doesn’t do that, and hope you don’t either.
You never know what’s going on inside another person’s head, heart and life, though humans like to think you know. You don’t.
What looks calm, cool and collected on the outside could be full of conflict and consternation on the inside. You can admire someone and want to be like them – just beware of comparing yourself to them, because you’re not walking in their Crocs.
I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!
The Secret Purpose of Goal-Setting
Did you know that a goal is just an excuse to grow and learn?
Mom’s goal for me is to compete in rally obedience by the end of this year. I like that goal because there’s cheese involved and I get to play games with her.
What’s really happening when you’re reaching for a goal is that you’re stretching your knowledge and creativity and belief in yourself, and that’s all good!
So go ahead – set a goal. Just remember it’s the journey to the goal that really lights your fire, so enjoy every step along the way.
I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!
The Art of Dealing with Annoying People
Got a client coming in today that you dread seeing?
Maybe they’re difficult, or maybe they’re a close-talker, or maybe they just don’t know when it’s time to stop playing, like my Poodle brother. Give that boy some Ace, already!
Anyway, when you know you have to spend time with someone you don’t love spending time with, try this – make up a story about why they are the way they are. Make it a tale of woe, like something bad happened to them in childhood that caused them to be how they are.
Convince yourself that the story is true, because when you do, you’ll feel love and compassion for them instead of irritation or dread.
I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!
Ouch! Responding to Criticism
How do you respond when someone criticizes you or wants to argue?
Sometimes that squirrel sits up on the fence and chews me out – man, that frosts my fur!!
It’s really easy to get defensive or to argue – instead, memorize these words and use them as needed – “thank you for your input – I’ll consider it.”
You have acknowledged that you heard them and have NOT agreed to what they’re saying, just that you’ll consider it.
You might consider it garbage, but hey, you still considered it!
I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!
