Do I really matter? It takes one small thing.

I spent the better part of last week at a veterinary gathering in Dallas Texas.  The program was designed to be uplifting and informative - teaching the participants everything from human resource laws to gratitude and self-awareness. There were many different speakers with differing approaches presented, but they were all aiming at the same goal in some way:  aiming at self-care for veterinary professionals and encouraging a gratitude mentality. 

This subject is my passion and the main reason that I started this blog. 

The one event that I found particularly enjoyable and meaningful at the conference was the “charity” activity.  The entire group of over 1000 veterinarians, hospital managers and veterinary technicians were gathered into a room and separated into teams.  We were then given supplies and challenged to make blankets, build doghouses, birdhouses, and dog beds for a variety of animal and human charity organizations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. 

The collective energy in the room was so positive it was electric.   Everyone in that huge ballroom was engaged and motivated.  Why?  We were giving back.  We were focused on doing something to better another.   The activity caused us to focus on the power that each of us has to overcome the negativity of the world by doing one small thing.  

On my team I met a veterinarian from Los Angeles who was such a sunny personality that I immediately felt great about my profession and my life.  She was the kind of person that sees the glass as half full.  She had a fantastic life outlook and gave our team added energy.  She focused her energy outward and affected us in a positive way.

This is something that you can focus on everyday to make your own life better.  You have the power to improve your attitude by focusing on someone else.  Giving back to the universe for what it has given to you.  It is a positivity super power that is always available to you.  

Start each day by feeling grateful for one small thing in your life.   It can be something as simple as your warm bed, your cup of coffee or the roof over your head.  Write it down as a way of seeing it in a concrete way.  Then spend a few minutes thinking about something you can do for another person today. It doesn’t have to be as complex as giving money or time to a charity organization.  It can be as simple as happily letting someone merge into traffic on your way to work. It can be something as simple as being positive for your team like my new friend from Los Angeles. It can be something anonymous. In fact anonymous random acts of kindness are often the best things you can do to make yourself feel alive.    

  

As veterinary professionals we do a lot of giving and it can make us feel depleted.  However, we have the power to use giving and gratefulness as a way of improving our outlook and feeling energized. By using the tools of gratitude and living openhandedly you will feel the difference and realize that every little thing you do really matters in this world.

Do one small thing.

You do matter.

 

Dr. Julie Cappel