“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this and you will find
strength.” Marcus Aurelius
Often in the day of a veterinarian we have the opportunity
to experience pressure, stress, and self-doubt. We can have feelings of distress when things are not going
our way. If our day takes a
negative turn it is up to us to be emotionally tough and control our emotions to
protect our minds from negativity.
That is when we need to use emotional strength.
Sadly, this week we suddenly lost one of our hospital cats
to a blood clot secondary to his severe heart disease. Jabba, named by our animal assistants because we did not know
his real name, was a big fat tabby cat that was abandoned on our doorstep along
with his sister (Leia) last summer.
Yep, just plunked into a cat carrier and left at our front door to be
found in the morning. Interesting because
the cats were left in a place where our security cameras could not see the car
or the people that left them in the early morning hours. It was almost as if
the owners knew where to dump them.
Anyway, when Jabba arrived at the hospital and was examined by one of
our doctors it was discovered that he had a heart condition and needed a visit
to a cardiologist. That is how he managed to become our hospital cat. We could not ethically adopt him out to
a family with his need for repeated echocardiograms by a cardiology specialist
and multiple medications daily, so we decided to keep him knowing that his life
may be shortened by his heart disease.
The reason that I tell the story of Jabba is as an example
of our need for emotional
strength. We have the ability to
exercise power over our mind – not being influenced by outside events. The events of Jabba being first abandoned
and then ultimately succumbing to his heart condition could send my team and I into
negativity and depression.
Should we be upset that his owners abandoned him, or happy
that he ended up with those of us that could care for him properly? Should we be sad that he died suddenly
or happy that he had a loving home with us for the last year of his life?
If we embrace emotional strength we get to choose how we
want to feel about it.
Emotionally strong people realize that they have the power over
their thoughts, actions and emotions.
They acknowledge that their feelings are the result of the thoughts that
they choose. They can process
negative emotions effectively in order to move their day in a more positive
direction.
Emotionally strong people realize that life is both positive
and negative. They understand that
there are negative things in life that are beyond their control. They do not feel sorry for themselves
when bad things happen because they know that it is part of the deal.
Emotionally strong people take responsibility for their
attitude. They understand how to
control their reactions in order to navigate life more effectively. They treat other people with
respect and understand that
human relationships involve accepting people as they are.
When you start to feel that you are a victim of your
emotions and you are going into a negative space, think about your
thoughts. It is ok to be sad when
bad things happen - you want to embrace and feel that emotion; however, it will
not serve you to live there or spiral into negativity. Embrace your emotional strength and choose better thoughts to help you
feel invincible.
So here’s to the memory of our Jabba: we loved you even if it was for a short
time. Thank you for teaching us a lesson about emotional strength.
Dr. Julie Cappel
Please join me on my Podcast - The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast http://theveterinarylifecoach.libsyn.com/
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