The on-line course How High Achievers Succeed and Keep Succeeding is starting again soon, over 6 weeks on Thursdays from October 17 to November 21, 2019.This course has run ten times so far with close to 100 people being a part of the small group format.
So why might you want to take some time out of your busy life to join the course?
Let’s go straight to the horses’ mouth to find the answer as this is a question that Cathy asks each participant in order to personalise the course to their needs. Detailed data analysis revealed 4 key themes in the vets, nurses, practice managers, and others that have attended.
Improving work-life balance.
Far and away the biggest reason for joining the course relates to improving work-life balance and building skills to achieve this improvement; better manage stress, burnout or life in general, dial down an overactive mind, grow self-awareness, set boundaries and have perspective. This is no surprise given that high workloads are relatively common in our industry and Australian research (Dinh et al 2017) identifies that productivity and mental health start to decline when we work more than 39 hours a week on average.
Exploring passion, purpose and career direction.
Others come on the course to think about what it is they love and don’t love about their work and how they might craft their jobs to create more enjoyment and satisfaction along with the sense that they are making a contribution to a better world. A drive to explore “where to next” makes sense when you consider that 19% of respondents to the 2018 AVA Workforce survey were considering not working as a veterinarian in a years time.
Growing self-confidence.
Low self-confidence coupled with high expectations of ourselves are common in the veterinary world and many people came to the course looking for (and finding) suggestions to manage this.
Working well with others.
The people we encounter in the veterinary world, clients and colleagues alike, can challenge us. Sometimes they can feel like an obstacle getting in the way of us providing effective veterinary care. Course participants found that gaining greater understanding of themselves and their motivations, whilst also learning to better take the perspective of the other, was a beneficial outcome in their day to day lives.
Getting information that relates to these key themes is easy. The difficult part is finding the motivation and identifying and breaking down the barriers to behavioural change.
High Achievers have appreciated the safe space and dedicated time that the course creates that allows them to talk, and to reflect on their lives and their habits. They learn both from other people and their experiences, and the science of positive psychology, to personalise that learning and set step-by-step goals to improve their lives.
So what about you? How would you rate your current work-life satisfaction and enjoyment? If you are less than a 7/10, then now could be a good time to join the course!
OR – you might have completed a Mental Health First Aid course and want to play an active role in supporting the teams’ mental health within your practice. High Achievers provides a great summary of the literature on leading a fulfilling life which will be very helpful in your important role.
Either way, Cathy and VetPrac would love to see you in the course starting soon.
If you’d like to learn a little more about Cathy, and missed my articles about her over recent years, click here to find out about how she followed her passions which lead to her current role as Veterinary Well-Being Consultant and Coach.
Download the brochure for High Achievers or Click Here to Register.
