Rekindling: Compassion Fatigue Solutions for Animal Workers

You've likely heard the phrase "good vibes only". But life isn't good all of the time. It's half good and half not good. So what are we supposed to do with the half not good? Slap a positive, silver-lining thought onto it? As a coach who teaches thought work, it's often confused that I teach that we should just think positively all the time. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We don't often think that the emotional pain we feel has a purpose, but it does. The sadness, loss and grief we experience in life has purpose. In this episode I will tell you what I believe it is and how that can help you as you experience emotional pain in your life. Some things are certain in life, emotional pain is one of them. Get comfortable with your discomfort and your entire life will cha...

In this episode I'm sharing with you my current raw, unfiltered and not yet completely understood experience with grief after losing my mom suddenly last week. I have many things to yet figure out as I walk alongside of grief and I invite you to join me in this episode and perhaps learn about your own dance with the most uncomfortable and painful emotion of grief. When we can be willing to open ou...

Confidence = the belief we have in ourselves. You don't either have it or not, you can actually create it for yourself. And you should! In this episode you'll learn: -the difference between confidence and arrogance -confidence vs. self-confidence -how to create both -how we are socialized to not be confident -how fear is all just part of the deal Subscribe to my bi-weekly e-inspirations by texting...

This episode is my conversation with Isaiah Douglass, MBA, CFP. Isaiah is s financial planner who works with veterinarians to help them sort out as he says "anything that has a $ sign". We chat about: -His view on repaying student loans -Investing in ourselves -How different genders are socialized about money -Why we have a hard time talking about the cost of services in vet med -and much more! Th...

Most of the humans I know are not human BEINGS but human DOINGS. They are running from work to errands to responsibilities/obligations and feeling exhausted. And it's no wonder! Working with animals can be intense. It requires a lot of your physical, mental and emotional energy. And while compassion fatigue is complex, what increases your susceptibility is neglecting your own need for slowing down...

Could we be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Millions of people globally are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and perhaps this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Fingers crossed. This episode is a Pep Talk. I share with you the Top 10 Things I Can't Wait To Do Again and I encourage you to create your own list. Also in this episode I invite you to see what is OK in your life...

Compassion fatigue is often coined the "cost of caring" because of the impact that witnessing others in pain or distress has on the caregiver. But there's another "cost of caring" related to veterinary medicine and animal welfare work and that is the financial limitations of the pet owner. There is no question that the ability to afford veterinary care is an obstacle for many and because of that p...

What is your relationship with time? A love/hate one? Or a peaceful one? Do you feel you have enough time to do what you want or are you like most people who feel time is the enemy and you're always failing? Let's consider a new approach! In this episode I'll share: -how NOT to talk about time -how your brain is like an arsonist and how that gets in your way -my own process for mastering the 24 ho...

In the last episode I talked about Stage 1 and 2 of Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Self-awareness and self-management of your emotions. This episode is about Stage 3 and 4, social awareness (be aware of what others are feeling and needing) and relationship management (bringing together your awareness of your own emotions and those of others to create productive relationships). Working with animals r...

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the fancy phrase for how aware you are of how your feelings and actions and those of others in a way that results in positive interactions. I wish we learned EQ in school because it would solve a LOT of problems. In this episode I dive into the first two stages of EQ, Self-Awareness and Self-Management. There's no question that EQ is a much needed skill to live a hap...

How comfortable do you feel expressing yourself at work and not fearing punishment, rejection or embarrassment? How comfortable do you feel admitting you made a mistake or don't know how to do something even if you've been shown before? If you feel comfortable doing so than CONGRATULATIONS you are experiencing "psychological safety" in your place of work and it's a beautiful thing. I'm willing to...

The "hustle for worthiness" is a phrase I first heard from Brené Brown where she talked about either owning who we are and our story or spending our time hustling for our worth. Most of us (especially women) have been socialized to believe our inherent worth comes from what others think about us, how helpful we are to others and how much and what we get done. It's all externally derived and we hav...

Ever wonder if life coaching is for you? Or how it could change your life? In this episode I interview former client Dr. Jenni Rizzo. Dr. Rizzo is an emergency veterinarian, founder of the Lone Star Veterinary Academy and is a board member of the American Heartworm Society . Like many people, Jenni found herself not loving how she was feeling about veterinary medicine. Stressed and overwhelmed she...

I continue my conversation with Kelly Burich, animal health professional and Organizational Leadership expert, about the role that women play in leadership, what gets in the way of that and how to overcome the obstacles that may exist. Whether you work in vet med, animal welfare or any other animal-related field, chances are good it is predominately women. Women must be aware of the places where s...

Women as leaders is not new but with the swearing in of Madame Vice President Kamala Harris last week, it's on so many of our minds. But not only in politics do women have a rightly deserved "seat at the table". Women now dominate the student body of veterinary schools, are owning veterinary practices like never before and are running Fortune 500 companies. The future is not only female, so is the...

If you're feeling burned out right now, you're in good company. For so many of you, your work has gotten very busy and the workload has increased drastically. That sets up the ideal environment for burnout. Too much demand and not enough resources to meet that demand. What starts to happen to dedicated, caring and hard-working animal workers is that they then start to feel inadequate and like a fa...

I'm pretty sure Albert Einstein was a Life Coach but didn't know it. He said, "We can't solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created it". Exactly. In that way we can't create our future from the same thinking we created our current life with. We have to connect to the future version of ourself, who we WANT to be in order to become that version. She/he/they have all of your ans...

In this episode I share with you the top 10 things I've learned about myself and others during the pandemic. Some learnings are brand new and some are things I already knew but now I know them at a much deeper level. Some of these learning are about you and some are about me. Take a listen and see what you think! To join my email list: Text REKINDLE to 66866

Anything is possible for you in 2021. Anything. No matter what your circumstances may be. Allow yourself to dream a little. Set some intentions of what you want 2021 to be like and more importantly who you want to BE in it. Worksheet is available at www. rekindlesolutions.com/97 Discovery sessions can be scheduled by emailing Julie at Julie@rekindlesolutions.com.

Year-end reflection is such a great exercise to show you where you've been and where you are now. 2020 has been a year like no other and I think this year is essential to reflect on. It's been hard year but even in the most challenging times you might just be surprised by what you find!  Handout available at www.rekindlesolutions.com/96

Here comes winter and the holidays! Ready or not. But winter and the holidays don't have to be a downer. There's no law that says we all have to experience the "winter blues" or be pessimistic about the holidays. Turns out the happiest countries are some of the coldest and darkest. So this time of year does not have to equate to depression and misery. We can actually learn what the happiest countr...

Between the pandemic, holidays that won't feel normal and impending winter, it's easy to get down. Many people experience a change in mood this time of year but experts expect it to be worse this year. Whether it's just the "winter blues" or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), diet can make a difference. Listen to find out the 10 Power Foods that combat depression as well as 4 foods you should limi...

My compassion fatigue work spans 3 different aspects of animal workers: veterinary medicine, animal welfare/advocacy and lab animal research. I'm so proud of the work they all do each and every day to help animals and people. But today's episode is in honor of my beloved research community. For those involved, the use of animals in research is not benign. It weighs heavy on their hearts, they expe...

If you regularly overeat, over drink, spend too much time on your phone, over work or spend too much shopping online, I have news for you... You have a normal functioning brain. We're living in a world filled with highly concentrated things that naturally only create more desire for them. I will share with you a 4-step process for stopping an "overing" behavior. It's actually the exact process I u...