Reflections and Resolutions
Reflections
It has been a crazy year. When I made my New Years Resolutions last year, I could not have predicted the reasons they would be disrupted. In the last 12 months, we’ve not only had a global pandemic but also an enormously chaotic political landscape. Veterinarians have gone from scary low caseload with shutdowns in March and April to huge, hard to manage caseload increases with pandemic puppies and curbside service. We have dealt with quarantining staff, working in masks, and constantly changing protocols.
Personally, I am unimaginably grateful and fortunate. In the past year, I found a rewarding new job (Go Cougs!), celebrated my 50th birthday and 25th wedding anniversary, and (knock on wood) my family and friends are safe. I’ve learned to play online games to keep in touch with my parents and I’m getting pretty good at lecturing online. I had a scientific paper that I worked on for 5 years finally accepted. I’ve watched over 100 episodes of the Gilmore Girls (Stars Hollow is the perfect antidote to our current divided country).
Resolutions – Pro or Con?
Because goal setting works best when the goals are specific and measurable, my resolutions last year were to write 26 blogs and participate in the Whidbey Island triathalon. I only managed 15 blogs. The Whidbey triathalon was cancelled. I ran once, rode my bike once, and went into our local lake once (not long enough to qualify as a swim).
So, are resolutions worthwhile? A recent study showed that most people will give up their resolutions by January 19th. There are lots of specific suggestions for making them stick – find a way to hold yourself accountable (post it in a blog or on facebook), piggy-back on an existing habit, make it fun.
I am going to suggest two other reasons resolutions make sense.
Reason one for resolutions – Failure is never as frightening as regret.
This is one of my favorite quotes. Most people when they reflect on their life are less sad about what they tried but were not able to accomplish than the things they never tried at all. As Sheryl Sandberg said during her commencement speech to City Colleges of Chicago in 2014,
“Your life’s course will not be determined by doing the things that you are certain you can do. Those are the easy things. It will be determined by whether you try the things that are hard.”
So, what is something hard you really want to do but have been afraid to try? Or keep putting off because you are busy? Or can’t quite admit you really want? Could 2021 be the year it finally happens?
Take time to reflect on what sapped your energy in 2020 and also what gave you strength. Hard times can really illuminate what most matters. How can you make 2021 contain more of what fills you up and less of what drains you? Resolve to not be afraid and go after what matters to you, even if it is hard.
Reason two for resolutions – Small steps matter
Some years, my resolution has been to run more. It is a great form of exercise, easy to do anywhere, can be done individually or with a group, and doesn’t take fancy equipment. Despite all the positives, I never really stick with it. My episodic running felt silly until I saw a study done in 2017 that showed every hour of running might add 7 hours to your lifespan! The way I look at it, if I resolve in multiple years to run and only make it to January 19th, its still better than not doing it at all.
I think this is true about lots of things – flossing, eating less meat, dry January, read more books, social media breaks, or even my son’s resolution this year, “do more stuff.” Making changes in January can be valuable even if it doesn’t carry through. I am not sure I would have written 15 blogs if I had not aimed for 26. Aiming high and missing still often means you end up in a different place than before you started.
2021 Resolutions
One of my resolutions for this year is to make it to blog number 100. It is harder to write the blog while also writing lectures and scientific papers. However, there are important issues our profession needs to keep talking about. The gender and racial bias issues are real. The pandemic has not slowed down the consolidation and purchase of our industry by non-veterinarians. Veterinary debt is still growing 4.5 times as fast as income. As a profession, we need to be talking more about medical quality, error prevention, and a need to hold vendors and manufacturers of veterinary equipment accountable.
I hope you will join me and make a resolution for 2021. Do something hard that makes you proud. Aim high but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t accomplish everything.
I also hope you’ll join me through the year and contribute with comments and emails as I continue to discuss the issues that impact community, ownership, sustainability, and quality in veterinary medicine.
Here’s to great conversations in 2021!
