How do we become, and stay, successful in veterinary practice?

It has been said that success in veterinary practice comes when we have that sweet combination of clinical ability, interpersonal and personal skills (Viner 2010). We in the veterinary industry are great achievers and we particularly love to grow our clinical skills and knowledge. Our focus on clinical acumen is understandable – but when was the last time you worked on your relationship building strategies or thought about how you could improve your resilience or contemplated what makes you happy in your professional life?

Have you even considered what success would look like for you??

It is super easy to buy into the model of success advocated by the advertising industry – the beautiful, calm people in their immaculate houses surrounded by all sorts of consumer goods. Getting this type of success will definitely make big business happy – but will it make you happy, really? The definition of success which resonates with me is one from Maya Angelou, an American poet and novelist –

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it”

Now that is what I am talking about! The question is, do you? Do you like yourself, do you like what you do and do you like how you do it? Often we get into a space of running around busily checking things off our multiple lists without even thinking whether it should be on the list in the first place – is it important, is it helpful, will it make a positive difference to us or to others?

Create some space….

Sometimes we need to create some space, to stand back and reflect……

…..to consider how happy we feel,

…..to think about what we are good at,

…..to think about what matters to us and

…..how we can make a contribution to the world.

Is it time to reflect and maybe rejig things in your life?