Is there anyone out there who isn’t feeling additionally stressed from the recent dip in our country’s economic state? If there is, I sure haven’t met them. As I’ve talked to my clients over the last several weeks, I’ve heard a common theme: anxiety and worry about the future, specifically, people want to know what and how the financial implications of what happened on Wall Street will impact their future. I bet as a veterinarian you’re in the same boat. You’re probably wondering, “Will my clients be spending less on vet care?” , “Should my team reconsider travel for meetings or continuing education?”
Ah, if I only had a crystal ball, I could predict how this will all play out, but since I don’t see one landing in my lap anytime soon, I am limited to offering you some good advice that can help offset the mental anguish you might be experiencing, due to the recent financial challenges of today.
I think it’s important to avoid over or under reacting by facing the current financial situation head-on. It’s easy to fall into one of two very extreme ways of responding when you’re faced with something that causes you to be afraid — shear fear or total denial. Don’t freak-out and don’t go to the other extreme either, by refusing to believe there has been a change in our economy and pretending it won’t affect you, on some level. Your practice or hospital, too, must account for some of the same cost increases as households. As in any situation that creates alarm or causes you to worry, if you can keep your head on straight, you will be more apt to make better decisions. Maybe you’re worried you may be losing some of your revenue streams, such as prescription drugs and vet-only products that your clients are finding on the Internet. Stay calm and approach these times with a realistic-optimistic attitude.
We all know that there are no absolutes in life and the winds of change can happen, good or bad, personal or professional, at any moment. Sometimes, I think we need to be shaken up a bit and remember the wisdom of Forrest Gump when he compared life to a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. No matter how well you plan, you can never be sure the plan is going to work the way you want it to. As much as we wish it wasn’t so, life is a series of changes, phases and uncertainty.
I like what Tony Robbins, authority on psychology of leadership, says about keeping perspective during uncertain times. “There are two choices in life when it comes to facing uncertainty: fear or faith. They’re fundamentally the same thing — a product of our imagination. No one knows what the future holds, but the difference between fear and faith is that fear is imagination undirected. It grows like destructive wildfire, devastating our emotions and oppressing our sense of well-being. Faith is imagination directed. We have the choice to create a vision and move toward it confidently, ready to accept whatever the outcome will be. Mastering your fear doesn’t mean that it never shows up. It just means that you take control of it rather than it takes control of you. So when everyone else is running, you’ll be ready to see the possible advantages to what others only see as a bleak situation.
There is no doubt, our economy is down and people are worried, but history has shown that our country has gone through times like these before and, more than likely, will bounce back again. And at the risk of sounding too Pollyanna, remember that times of struggle are what make us think and help us grow. What may seem like a dismal situation is often an opportunity to learn and succeed. It seems you can’t always alter lif’s circumstances, but you can alter the way you deal with them by deciding how you will react.
How are you dealing with the recent changes in our economy?
Anthony Robbins is an authority on the psychology of leadership, negotiations, organizational turnaround and peak performance. He has been a personal adviser to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, the United States Army and Marines and Grammy-award winning musicians. For more information on strategies to thrive even in harsh economic times, visit thepowerofcrisis.com or tonyrobbins.com.
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