I am on a road trip with my husband today, and we stopped at a McDonald's for coffee and a bit of breakfast; you see, we were supposed to be on a plane to Oklahoma City to visit family and watch my daughter and son-in-law sing in a performance of Lucia Di Lammermoor with Painted Sky Opera.  We arrived at the airport two hours before our flight was to leave, and the Detroit airport was packed to the rafters with travelers.  As we struggled to find the correct luggage line to stand in, my husband went to the kiosk to print our baggage tags and found out that our flight had been can ..read more

We all sometimes feel overwhelmed by clutter and "stuff" around our homes, desks, or schedules. Being around clutter adds to stress and anxiety, preventing us from feeling peace and enjoying family and friends.  Last weekend, I spent several days at my cousin's home in California, where I was reminded that an organized space makes everyone feel relaxed and welcome.  My cousin is an incredible interior designer/decorator, which I already knew, but staying in her home, I discovered she is also a master organizer.  Every drawer in her kitchen was neat and clean, and every bath ..read more

Through my career in veterinary medicine and life coaching, I have met many wonderful people in every stage and position of their careers. I meet those in pre-veterinary programs, veterinary school students, new veterinary graduates, interns, specialists, industry veterinarians, and those nearing the end of their careers. This diverse mix of talented people has many things in common, but one that I hear often. They struggle with returning to peace after experiencing failure.  Like many professionals, veterinarians are intelligent, driven, ambitious, and perfectionistic. We hate faili ..read more

If you have listened to my podcast lately, The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast, you may have heard that I have written my first book that will be coming out in September. Writing was challenging because I had powerful limiting beliefs that kept me from getting started for many years. I did overcome them, but now I am waiting for others to edit, design, and help me publish the book. My deadline for publication changes almost weekly and has dragged on for months. Now that I am over my limiting beliefs, I work on practicing patience. I never dreamed I would write something worth reading, an ..read more

It is Independence Day weekend, and we are all enjoying fun, rest, and relaxation with our family and friends. Because the 4th of July falls on a Tuesday this year, many of us are working in our clinics on Monday. Holding on to the relaxed feeling from the weekend may be difficult moving from Sunday evening to Monday’s work day and back into our Tuesday holiday.   Congratulations, you are one smart cookie if you took Monday off as a vacation day. If you work ER, you may work the weekend and Tuesday. However, you can use these same mind hacks to help you stay in a holiday mindset for ..read more

Last weekend I spent time with some old friends. Not “old” people, but friends I have had for a long time. When I say “old friends,” I guess I mean true friends. True friends are people you know well and feel very comfortable with, even when you don’t interact often. True friends share your history and understand your personality quirks and flaws. They are the people that love you unconditionally. Spending time with these ladies over the years, through dog training/showing, raising children, and now bike riding and scrapbooking/crafting weekends, has brought me much joy and se ..read more

This month we are welcoming into our profession the three thousand-plus veterinarians graduating from Veterinary Colleges around the country. I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to all of you that survived veterinary school - I know it was a long, tough road. You are now entering the world's most challenging, entertaining, emotional, demanding, and incredible profession. Veterinarians and those who work in veterinary medicine are some of the most supportive and kind people in the world. Your life will be blessed as you walk among them. As I scroll through the posts on Instagram ..read more

Today is Valentine's Day, and this past Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday.   I started writing this blog on Sunday to get it posted, but I stalled. I stalled physically and mentally. Stalling sometimes happens when we feel overwhelmed or distracted with life or just forget to concentrate on our goals. In the interest of becoming un-stalled, I am finishing this writing today.  I decided to combine my thoughts from Sunday with my thoughts today, Valentine's Day. I finish this blog by concentrating on one thing we can learn from each of these "holidays."  Persistence.  Wh ..read more

Do you ever wonder where your time goes? Why does it seem that our work days go so slowly and our home days go by so fast? It could be because we have our work days carefully scheduled, and our days off are so loosely planned. We have "day off" giant to-do lists, but we do not take time to plan and schedule our tasks.  You must examine where you are now to achieve more, accomplish more, and work towards personal growth. Are you using your time wisely? Do you have a dialed-in routine to help you achieve your goals? What are you doing to change? Personal growth and change involve w ..read more

I have been working on writing this blog for the past two weeks, which is unusual for me as I often write my blogs in one day. I have been struggling with this because I have produced several blogs and podcasts about New Year's resolutions, goal setting, change, and how to start afresh in the new year. This time, I wondered what else I could offer to help you create your best new year?  Here is what I came up with.  I want to offer you the thought that every day can be a new start in your life. You do not have to wait till the new year to start anew. We all want to change somet ..read more