Take a lesson from autumn and let go.

I realized this week that autumn has arrived.  I say I realized it, not because I don’t know how to read a calendar, but because I took a walk with my work crew on Friday at noon in 70 degree weather and later that day left work at 40 degrees in the rain.  Yes, that’s my state Michigan.

I used to think of autumn as marching band and football season.  I spent years, when my kids were in band, sitting in the stands watching high school and college football games.  I loved those day so much!  Now, my kids have outgrown band and then there is covid, so I have zero opportunities to attend local games. I miss the music, the people, and the energetic atmosphere in the football stadium. 

Autumn is a time of turnover, renewal, and change.  From the summer’s lush beauty to the changing leaves that result in mostly naked trees.  There are lessons that we can learn from the changing seasons as nature turns over and prepares to bloom again in the spring. 

Learn to let go of things that do not serve you.  We all want to hang onto our past.  Whether it is happy memories like my marching band days, or a mediocre relationship or unfulfilling job.  We hang on to them because they feel comfortable and safe.  Our brain does not want to face the uncertainty of new thoughts and challenges.  We fear change, so we stay small.  

What if we learn to let go of our past like the trees let go of their leaves?  Would we then be open to self improvement or renewal? 

Allow yourself to examine the ways you are living in your past.  Thoughts of inadequacy held over from childhood will affect your ability to reach goals.  Concentrating on your past mistakes will keep you fearful of stepping up to new challenges. Examine your negative thoughts and choose instead to think in the present and trust yourself to create something better.

Take a lesson from the changes of autumn and let go of things that hold you back.  

Dr. Julie Cappel

“Renew, release, let go. Yesterday’s gone. There’s nothing you can do to bring it back. You can’t “should’ve” done something. You can only DO something. Renew yourself. Release that attachment. Today is a new day!” – Steve Maraboli

Tell me what you love about autumn and how you plan to let something go.

Let’s celebrate our big love for Veterinary Technicians

This week was Veterinary Technician Week  - the one week each year that the veterinary profession chooses to honor those multitalented individuals that help us to help the world’s pets.  Although we choose one week in October to honor them, we must acknowledge that there would be no such thing as modern veterinary medicine without the assistance of licensed veterinary technicians.  They are the glue that holds every practice together.  

The year 2020 has made this fact even more relevant due to the fact that we had to change the way we practice dramatically. The veterinary team had to redesign running our practice by taking work curbside; the technicians are taking the brunt of those curbside practice changes. 

The talented technician team that I work with consists of eight of the most caring, talented, versatile, empathetic people that I know.  Being a veterinary technician is not all about playing with kittens and cuddling puppies.  We all love that part of the job, but much of their time is spent working with panicked stricken, unruly, ninety pound dogs that want nothing better than to avoid treatment or harm the technician that is attempting to care for them.  Technicians frequently become bruised and battered by terrified or angry dogs in an attempt to help the patients that are presented to them. 

Veterinary technicians must be multitalented.  Each day they fill the roll of dental hygienist, anesthetist, radiographer, emergency room nurse, groomer, client educator, patient advocate, behaviorist, and phlebotomist. They must also be exceptionally emotionally stable, ignoring their own emotional needs in place of caring for others.   One of my technicians lost her own dog this week and then had to immediately return to work while grieving the loss of her own fur baby.  She spent the day taking care of clients’ pets instead of taking care of herself and her family during their time of loss. She represents the compassion and dedication embodied by most veterinary technicians.  You will see many a veterinary technician cradling a recovering surgical patient in their arms while eating their lunch, or bottle feeding baby kittens on their day off. 

So next week and for the rest of the year, let us not forget that these underpaid and under appreciated individuals work in this profession to take care of you and your pet.  Be kind when you encounter them and do not give them grief if they are running a little late for your nail trim or vaccine appointment. Tell them how much you appreciate them and the difficult job that they do. 

October hosts veterinary technician week, but I say every day should be “love your technician day”.  Much love to Becky, Carolyn, Shelley, Beth, Sam, Dawn, Jackie, and Deanna – my amazing technician friends.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a

listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all

of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ― Leo F. Buscaglia

Dr. Julie Cappel

Please share your best veterinary technician story to honor those who really run our veterinary hospitals.

Join me on The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-veterinary-life-coach-podcast-with-dr-julie-cappel/id1451549730

Why so negative?

As I write this I am sitting 38037 feet above Springfield Missouri on my way with my husband back to Detroit, from Texas. We spent the week visiting my daughter and her husband in Texas and my mother in law and her husband in Oklahoma.  I am sitting near the window looking out into a crystal clear sky and I can see the ground beneath the plane slowly passing.  The reason I know our altitude and location is that there is a screen on the back of the person’s seat in front of me that gives me the details of the flight second by second.  I know where we are, our altitude, and how fast the plane is flying  - 493 mile per hour .  There are a variety of movies, TV, radio, and video content at my fingertips on the same screen.  I have a book to read, my laptop computer, and a variety of snacks that I bought at the airport.  The flight attendant even offered me wine, which I declined, but how much better can my life get?  I am wearing a mask, but that did not stop me from partaking in the snacks.  As I look out over the vast earth below me I think of how many people on the ground have problems today? How many are ill or suffering?  How many have lost their jobs or are worrying about paying bills? How many are joyful? 

I admit that there have been days in the past few weeks that I have had negative thoughts about little things in life.  Negative thoughts about something that happened at work, negative thoughts about the presidential election, and negative thoughts about things I own or things that I desire.   Why so negative, when I have so many blessings? 

Our inherent negativity bias is a big reason why we have evolved to use our higher brain.  We have learned to use that higher brain to recognize the negative thoughts, accept them, and then choose to change them to more positive productive thoughts, on purpose.  There is so much magic in this ability to think through things and choose kindness and compassion over anger and hate. 

My friend lost his wife last week to cancer.  She had fought for over 5 years and lost her life to the devastating disease.  He and his family posted on Facebook that they were choosing to share memories, laughter, and love in the wake of her passing in place of sorrow or anger.  They chose to honor her memory rather than morn her passing  There is power in his families’ choice.  In place of bitterness about the disease that took her life, they choose instead to celebrate her with cherished memories and love.  I am sure that is the way she would have wanted them to react to her beautiful life.

The choice to create better thoughts is available to every human in every circumstance.  Before I started looking out the window at the earth below me, I was thinking that my back was hurting, I was bored of sitting, my feet were cold, and I did not  like wearing a mask for the whole flight-"stupid pandemic!"-my brain thought.  I was feeling restless, crabby, and supremely ungrateful.  As I realized that my brain was acting like a baby, I  changed my thinking to create feelings of gratitude.  I chose to feel grateful for the team at my veterinary hospital that held down the fort for 7 days.  I chose to feel blessed that I have a daughter and son in law to visit in Texas whose beauty and wit are beyond compare. Blessed to have my husband, son, and parents who are all healthy and thriving.  Blessed to have this weekly blog to write, and my podcast - where I get to learn, coach, and offer support to the veterinary community.

This week I vow to set some goals, do some work, compliment some people, offer my financial support to someone in need, appreciate the beauty of the earth and all the things in it.  If I am blessed to live to see another year, I want to arrive as a better person than I am today.  I will continue changing my negative self talk, negative opinions, and scroll by those negative social media stories.   I vow to change my negative thoughts to positive ones.  

How do you choose to feel this week?  Positive I hope.

Dr. Julie Cappel

Join me on the Podcast!

The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-veterinary-life-coach-podcast-with-dr-julie-cappel/id1451549730

Color me Summer

Most of us have so many responsibilities in life - work, home, kids, parents, pets - that we often forget to take care of the person that matters the most, ourselves. Taking care of you is your most important job and should be your first priority.  If you are a working mother, business owner, spouse, parent, or pet caretaker, everyone needs to take care of themselves first.  

Yesterday I was honored to go through a color analysis session with my daughter. Bridget lives in Dallas Texas and for the first time since the pandemic, my husband and I traveled to Dallas to visit her and her husband.  Bridget was introduced to color analysis about a year and a half ago when she and her sister in law went through a session and discovered their true colors.  She was immediately hooked on the process and loves using her color palette to choose clothing, makeup, and presenting her best self to the world. Bridget is a professional Opera singer and has many opportunities to use color to enhance her presentation during auditions and performances. 

The color theory is relatively simple - “Human coloration is diverse, beautiful, and affected by our undertones (color of our blood), and our natural skin pigmentation.”  “The goalof a Personal Color Analysis is to identify your natural color tone and to accurately place it into one of the scientifically organized 12 seasonal tones.”, says Rebecca Reid of Colorpolitan.   If we wear the colors that compete with our natural skin hues, we look, dull, sad, or invisible.  My skin has some yellow tones that were exaggerated when I was put in very bright colors, and I have always loved very bright colors.  Who knew that I was doing myself a disservice? Taking some time to visit with my daughter and learn something remarkable in the process was truly an exercise in honoring my authentic self.  

Taking care of and honoring yourself in any way, especially during this pandemic, is critical to your mental health and success. Self care can look like anything that pleases or relaxes you.  Whether you choose color analysis, exercise, healthy eating, reading, napping, or simply walking in nature.Anything to slow your mind and get to know yourself better will allow you to create space for better thoughts which will eliminate much of your stress.  

Reminding yourself to put you first will expand your ability to care for others.  Getting rest and energy on purpose before you extend care to others, increases your capacity for caring, understanding, and giving.  Your attitude will improve, you will expand your capacity for work, and you will allow yourself to set goals that never felt possible before.  Schedule your down time first and enter it into your calendar.  If you do that consistently each week you will be ready to step into the best version of yourself.  Filling your cup first gives you the ability to pour more out for others. 

Getting my color analysis done and learning that I am a “True Summer” was super fun and fascinating. Thank you Bridget and Rebecca for providing this amazing experience.

Schedule something fun and different this week to take care of you.  You will be better for it.

If you want to learn more about color analysis visit Rebecca’s website:  www.colorpolitan.com.

Dr. Julie Cappel

“Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” - Lucille Ball