Have you ever caught yourself in the throes of self-criticism after a long day at work?
I've been there more times than I can count, wrestling with the inner critic that seems to thrive on stress and exhaustion. But what if there were a way to flip the script?
In this latest episode of the Vet Staff podcast, we dive into the power of personal compassion statements. Host Julie South shares practical tips to drown out our inner critics and kick-start self-compassion.
Key Takeaways:
🔍 Notice your inner critic: Keep an ear out for self-critical thoughts and interrupt them with kindness and understanding - Julie shows you how.
🔄 Pattern interrupt: Use circuit breakers to shift from negative self-talk to positive affirmations, creating a pivot in your mindset - Julie shows you how.
đź’¬ Repeat and vary: Develop a library of self-compassion affirmations that resonate with you and use them consistently to bolster your self-esteem - Julie shows you how.
Let's spread the word and empower more veterinary professionals to build resilience and positivity.
About DISC-Flow®
DISC is a research-backed and science-based personality profiling tool used to understand our behaviours, communication styles, and work preferences. It’s about understanding what makes you – and the people you work with – tick.
Julie South is a DISC Flow® Certified Trainer, who describes DISC-Flow® profiling as being like having a cheat sheet to better understand yourself and other people. When you know this, it helps you play to your personality strengths, work better in teams, and communicate better.
If you’re keen to find out what your personal DISC type is, what type of leader you are, or what your clinic’s team composition looks like, then get in touch with Julie to find out what's involved.
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Julie South [00:00:05]:
Welcome to the Vetstaff podcast, the place where you, the veterinary professional, can go to get your head screwed on straight so you can get excited about going to work on Monday mornings and be the most fantabulous, resilient version of you you can be. I'm your show host, Julie south, and this is episode one seven seven. You can find back copies of the Vetstaff podcast@vetstaffpodcast.com if you sometimes feel like you lose your why, then I'd like to invite you to join me in this challenge this march to help you recalibrate and or discover your inner compass and give you the tools for you to start topping up your resilience juice tank. This is the third episode in the four part series. Remember, we're going through until Easter. I'll take you through some really simple things that you can do on a daily or an as required basis to help you keep topping up your resilience juice tank. Just one small drop at a time. This is the third step to building your own unique, tailored exclusively for you, a motivating personal affirmation statement library.
Julie South [00:01:27]:
These are different statements that you can pick up and put down for different situations that empower you so that when you start to find yourself on a downward spiral, you can go to your own personal library and reach for whichever statement you need in that moment. So far on the last two episodes, we've covered how to build an affirmation statement based on your professional values and how an empowering mindset shift can happen with personal positive affirmation statements. Today we're going to look at personal compassion statements, and these are the statements we need to start using to drown out and silence our inner critics. Next week, we're going to look at cultivating optimism, which is essential when we feel like everything around us is going to hell in a handcuff and we're up to our necks in alligators. So like I said, you can visit vetstaffpodcast.com and you can follow there as well, using whichever audio platform is your listening app of choice, and listen to back episodes as well. Righty, personal affirmation statements now, I'm not sure if you're like me, but sometimes I am so good at beating myself up big time. I swear I have a black belt in that sometimes my inner critic starts talking to me in ways that I would never ever in a million years dream of talking to someone I loved because it's just so horrible. I use words that are destructive, criticizing, and outright horrible.
Julie South [00:03:19]:
Not so much these days although sometimes I still get caught in a trap, but certainly in the years gone past. What I found, though, is that the use of personal affirmation statements like I've been sharing with you in this four part bite size series which I've now been using for, I don't know, 10, 15, 20 years. I beat up on myself a lot less than I used to when I was in my twenty s and my 30s. Like I said before, I had a black belt in self beat up. Now. Not so much in saying that, though. I find I beat up on myself more when I'm tired, as in really tired. So when I start noticing the negative and the harsh self language that starts to become louder in my head, one of the first things that I do is check in with my internal energy levels.
Julie South [00:04:21]:
When was the last time I spent a few hours or so in my happy place and gave myself time to decompress? Another question that I ask or look at is what has my diet been like over the last few days or weeks? Have I been working such long hours that I haven't been bothering to cook myself decent, healthy, nutritious meals? This usually happens for me when my husband's on, say, a triple or a quadruple overnight roster. That's when he's away for three or four nights in a row. What happens then is when he's away, I usually work late each night. Then I can't be bothered cooking just for one person then and. Or it's a bit too late. Then I eat rubbish. Or I've been grazing through the day because I'm tired. And I know that from.
Julie South [00:05:17]:
I know this, that grazing just doesn't work for me. I end up with energy highs and then energy crashes. It's in those crashes that come a drop in blood sugar which turn me into a monster when that monster starts talking. Boy, she's a witch. She's horrible, especially to me. So maybe you can relate. I hope that you can't, but just maybe, just maybe you can. Beating up on ourselves what's your inner critic like? Could he she they it learn to be a bit more loving, a bit more kind, a bit more understanding, a bit more gentle, a bit more compassionate.
Julie South [00:06:03]:
Let's start with being kind to ourselves, with you being kind to yourself more often. The first thing you need to do is listen out for when that inner critic, witch or demon starts talking to you. And then you need to interrupt their verbal beat up on you. If saying something to yourself which is the complete opposite of the negative self talk is just too much of a leap of faith for you to make right now. Then, to start with, begin with a pattern interrupt statement, something like we're going to go through today. So here are a few statements that I've used as patent interrupt as circuit breakers on that which that sometimes invades my head. They go like this. Enough of the self criticism, Julie.
Julie South [00:07:01]:
Let's start focusing on the positives instead. When I start hearing that witch go, I can also say, whoa. I find myself, I've got into the habit now of, whoa, Julie, listen to yourself. You don't talk to anyone else this way. So let's change the language, and then I'll put in a positive affirmation like we've gone through on the last two episodes or something like, hey, Julie, give yourself a break. You're doing the best you can with what you have. Be nice. Hey, Julie, go take five, put the kettle on and start being nice to yourself.
Julie South [00:07:41]:
The main thing is to notice when your witch or demon starts mouthing off. You need to start taking steps immediately to make a deliberate pivot, a change in direction, and you need to start being more self compassionate and to give yourself a break. Speak to yourself like you would a friend struggling with the same issues rather than the harsh self criticism, which I'm sure we're all so good at, instead, offer understanding and encouragement to do things better, to be nicer in incremental steps. Unfortunately, like with resilience, it's not a one and done thing unless you're a narcissist. This is a lifelong learning, a lifelong practice of just having mantras that positive affirmations that you repeat over and over and over again. And then the witch or the demon starts to take a backseat because your kinder self starts to be heard more often. But he or she it or they will still hang around, unfortunately, probably forever. So it's a good idea to make sure you've got a few of these self compassion affirmations up your sleeve to pull out when you need them, varying them, change them up and around.
Julie South [00:09:13]:
You'll find the one or a handful that fits best for you after a while, you have to keep repeating it over and over, even when you don't need to over talk or use as a circuit breaker or a pattern interrupt. It'll make the world of difference, but you got to start using it first. So please remember that your inner critic has had free rein inside your head for most likely decades, and they're not going to be easily silenced. So keep at it with yourself. Compassion affirmations give yourself the love, the compassion, and the space to heal. That witch or demon has probably done a number on your self esteem. Again, change isn't going to happen overnight, and you need to be gentle with yourself. The statements that I use just to recap what I'm doing here is just giving you some of those interrupt statements, and next week we'll look at how you can overwrite them with something that's a lot more positive.
Julie South [00:10:22]:
So right now it's just to interrupt. When I'm interrupting myself with the negative, I say something like, enough of the self criticism, Julie, let's start focusing on the positive instead. Or whoa, Julie, listen to yourself. You don't talk to anyone else this way. So let's start changing the language. Hey Julie, give yourself a break. You're doing the best you can with what you have. Start being nice to yourself.
Julie South [00:10:52]:
Or hey Julie, go take five, put the kettle on and start being nice. Listen to those obviously overwrite your name over mine. Use words that feel right for you. I hope you found this episode helpful as a way to keep or to get your head screwed on straight. Strengthen your resilience and be excited about going to work on Monday mornings. If you like the Vetstaff podcast and find it helpful, can I ask you to do me a favor? Please? Please help me spread the vet staff podcast word so that more of your colleagues and your besties can be more resilient and more positive. So please start telling three of your friends or colleagues about how this show helps you and other veterinary professionals get their heads screwed on straight to build their resilience so they can get excited about going to work on Monday mornings. Thank you very much.
Julie South [00:12:00]:
Tune in next week for some positive affirmation statements that I use in my life. This is Julie south signing off, inviting you to go out there and be the most resilient, fantabulous version of you you can be. The Vetstaff podcast is proudly powered by.
Julie South [00:12:22]:
Vetclinicjobs.Com, the new and innovative global job board reimagining veterinary recruitment. Connecting veterinary professionals with clinics that shine online Vetclinicjobs.com is your go to resource for finding the perfect career opportunities and helping vet clinics power up their employer branding game. Visit vetclinicjobs.com today to find vet clinics that shine online so veterinary professionals can find them. Vetclinicjobs.com.