If only we could go back

Could you go back in time and convince an owner to take out insurance BEFORE their Great Dane acquired himself a GDV?

Or could you maybe time jump and do an ultrasound scan instead of bloods, because you chose the bloods and now they’re inconclusive?

Would it be possible to change a sick, feral cat into a domestic one overnight just because you know it’s going to need meds and no way in hell will anyone be able to give them?

Do you ever find yourself thinking “God, I wish that hadn’t happened”?

Or “I shouldn’t have done that!”

Or “If only that client/my manager/the dog/my wouldn’t be like that, THEN…!”

All these are examples of us refusing to accept the reality of what is.

And let me tell you; you wouldn’t BELIEVE how much time and energy we SPEND on this! Absolutely useless, because whenever you argue with reality, guess who wins??

It’s like arguing with the weather. You cannot change the past. And you’re very unlikely to be able to change other people.

There’s an expectation behind this, around there has to be THE ideal scenario here. And that YOU should somehow be able to get there (or you will have failed - BAD vet!).

Being high achieving people in vet med comes with a price: the incessant need to problem solve, find THE solution, FIX things/animals/people, ideally as efficiently and quickly (and cheap!) as possible.

HOWEVER; life, for the most part, has other plans. Most of what we encounter in our profession is unpredictable and out of our control (just like the weather). Being able to ACCEPT this, the reality of what is, as opposed to spinning in “If only” scenarios, will get you to a place where you can make quick decisions based on what you’ve got in front of you, and feel calm and confident around it.

When I write it out like this, I bet you’re like “well yes, of course, I can’t change all these things, I KNOW that, duh!”. But I DARE you to tell me that you don’t do this on a regular basis, daily in the clinic (and at night when you’re trying to sleep), in an almost unconscious manner.

Practice self awareness in this. When you notice your brain going into denial of reality (you’ll notice by the words “if only”, “should”, “could have”, “shouldn’t have”), pause, and come back to what is.

If it’s a LOT, journal it out so you can become more an observer of your thoughts, as opposed to being a victim of them, spinning you around in denial like a lonely sock in a tumble dryer.

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In your corner,

Gunila