Are we destined to become a grumpy old vet?

This is one of my personal fears about practicing medicine too long. I don’t want to become the 70 year old vet that continues to practice just to practice.

I don’t want my clients to tell my young associates, “That’s not how old Doc Rooker did it.” I want to teach my clients and employees to continually seek growth, challenge and to always push the boundaries of what they know!

I want challenge, thought and growth every day of my career, and I know I am not alone in our community.

However, no one can truly achieve such goals without first putting their thoughts towards achieving their goals. As Norman Vincent Peale said;

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”

We need to understand that we are the cumulative output of our thoughts and actions.

That is to say, if we do not want to become the grumpy old vet, then we need to kill any thoughts that would make us become such a vet.

Veterinarians need to foster a mind that values creation, growth and curiosity and kills routine, laziness and mediocrity.

In order to do this, we must challenge our mind every day to seek out the ideas, facts and knowledge that will shape us from who we are to whom we want to be. For, as James Allen says;

“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbours; that which it loves, and also that which it fears; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; it falls to the level of its unchastened desires, and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.”

You need not seek out such information on your own. Lean on the resources of the modern era; use the internet, podcasts, books, your peers or other information sources to foster positive creative thought!

Develop a daily routine that exposes you, almost unknowingly, to ideas that foster positive thought and creativity. Seek out media that challenges your beliefs and seeks to educate; EVERYDAY! Avoid consuming content from the news or other outlets that look to exploit negative thoughts or exaggerated reactions.

If you find yourself struggling to create such an action plan for yourself go checkout the OTO Professional Development Plan model and follow its developmental steps. Participate in the Operators to Owners peer group and let our content help expose your mind to knowledge that is powerfully positive. This content will help create a mind that is centered around positive and creative thought, which will in turn foster positive and creative action.

Remember, no matter what happens in our life our mind will continue to have thoughts. If we do not seek to plant positive creative thoughts in our mind then there is a good chance we will just become another generation of grumpy old vets.

Carry on OTO’ers

Dr. Eric

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Ps. If you’re struggling to find positive and creative content sources please checkout my knowledge HOTLIST!

Primer Websites:

theladders.com/career-advice

Forbes.com - leadership tab

Journals/Publications:

Journal of Dairy Science

Hoards Dairyman

Dairy Herd Management

The last 5 books I’ve consumed and recommend:

The 4 Agreements

Make Today Count

How Successful People Think

The Coffee Bean

Make Your Bed

Reddits:

r/entrepreneur

r/EntrepreneurRideAlong

r/smallbusiness

r/staartups

Top 5 Podcasts:

The MFCEO Project

Entrepreneurs on Fire

The Brendon Show

The Gary Vee Audio Experience

The Marketing Secrets Show