Veterinary Resilience – Topping up Your Resilience Juice Tank by silencing your Inner Critic with Positive Affirmations
Veterinary Resilience – Topping up Your Resilience Juice Tank by Silencing Your Inner Critic Through Personal Affirmations
In this episode of the Vet Staff Podcast, host Julie South continues the four-part series on building resilience and discovering your inner compass.
This week the focus is on personal compassion statements – Julie provides valuable insights into combating self-criticism and silencing your inner critic.
She highlights the importance of interrupting negative self-talk (which she refers to as Circuit Breakers or Pattern Interrupts) and replacing it with kindness and understanding towards oneself.
You’ll gain practical strategies for cultivating self-compassion and enhancing your resilience.
Join Julie as she guides veterinary professionals through this transformative journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
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Veterinary Resilience – Silencing Inner Critics Through Self-Compassion and Positive Affirmations – part 3 of 4
Veterinary professionals operate under intense pressure – long hours, emotional situations, demanding clients – all of which invite burnout.
This makes self-compassion vital. Episode 177 of the Vet Staff Podcast offers simple yet powerful ways we can cultivate self-directed kindness and transform negative self-talk into resilience.
Recognising the Inner Critic
Host Julie South explains that we all have an inner critic that can chip away at our sense of self-worth when we’re exhausted or stretched thin.
This judgemental voice often sounds like an inner “witch” or “demon” attacking our self-esteem. Veterinary professionals who’re prone to sacrifice and hardship, tend to (sometimes) let this criticism go unchecked. But – as Julie shows in this episode – the pattern can be interrupted.
Identifying Triggers for Self-Criticism
The first step is identifying when your Inner Critic arises.
What situations trigger self-directed judgment or harsh language?
Do you generalise failure or blame yourself for things out of your control?
Become aware of the times and contexts when you start beating up on yourself.
The more you can pinpoint the critic’s voice, the better you can silence it.
Countering Critics with Compassion
Once you notice negative self-talk starting, you can pivot intentionally to self-compassion.
Julie shares positive affirmations veterinary professionals can use like “Give yourself a break – you’re doing the best you can.” Although this sounds too basic to make any difference, it really does!
Keep a list of go-to phrases that encourage you to be as kind to yourself as you would a close friend. Interrupt that callous Witch or Demon (your Inner Critic) by reminding yourself of your inherent worth.
Making Self-Compassion a Consistent Practice
The key is consistency.
Self-loathing patterns have built up over decades, so transforming your inner dialogue requires lifelong diligence. But Julie emphasises that the more often you meet criticism with compassion, the more natural it becomes.
Each moment you choose grace over condemnation builds emotional resilience for the intense demands of this profession.
Conclusion
By making self-compassion a daily practice, we can transform veterinary culture from the inside out.
Tune into episode 177 to start speaking words of kindness to ourselves instead of criticism.
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Julie South – on Linkedin – More Awe + Attitude of Gratitude posts
VetClinicJobs – where good employers shine online and people who’re looking for their next job can find them.
Positive Affirmation Series
Other Vet Staff Episodes Worth Listening to
ep 39 – 12 Statements Low EQ People Make
ep 40 – Emotional Intelligence – 6 Ways to Lead as an Emotionally Intelligent Leader
ep 145 – Exploring Social Intelligence – A Key to Personal and Professional Development
Research Links Mentioned in this Series:
https://e360.yale.edu/features/ecopsychology-how-immersion-in-nature-benefits-your-nhealth
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125471/
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/nature-and-mental-health
VetClinicJobs
where good vet clinic employers shine online and jobseekers go to find them
