A month long examinations are finally over! I haven’t written or journaled or properly reflected about the MANY things that I’ve experienced in the past 4 months of vet school here in USAMV-Cluj! So many thoughts are on my mind right now hence the title of this blog. Letting my thoughts flow. Hopefully there’s some organisation in this blog but if not, I apologise in advance! I’m not going to be too hard on myself after 2 months of not writing. I just want to put my thoughts out there, as long as it helps one person — anyone — I’m content.
5 random thoughts I have at the top of my head, about life in general. No matter what I do, it’s these thoughts that keep me going with grit and love, so hope it helps!
Celebrate little wins!
I’ve come to realise that celebration is so important and precious. Action and reward — I’m sure you’ve heard of this. From the ‘Atomic Habits’ book, there are 4 types of rewards — intrinsic/extrinsic and immediate/delayed. Celebrating little wins are in fact giving yourself intrinsic and immediate rewards. It is the best type to build a habit and stay consistent. In other words, it is learning to enjoy the process.
Intrinsic rewards are focused on the activity itself and how you feel. Such as feeling a sense of competence, progress, growth, autonomy etc. It’s celebrating doing the activity itself. For my case, writing this blog right now is intellectually stimulating and helping me to organise my thoughts that I’ve kept bottled up for months of not writing. It doesn’t rely on external factors.
Extrinsic rewards are based on material or external factors. Such as having ice cream after going for a run, scrolling though Instagram after studying a chapter.
Immediate rewards happen during the activity or right after. Immediate reward is feeling a sense of growth or progress while doing the activity. Rewarding right after is for example, having a bite of chocolate (extrinsic too) after completing an essay.
Delayed rewards happens long after the task/activity is completed. Investing and being rewarded with a sum of money accumulated over the years. A graduation ceremony after one or two months of actually graduating. Of course, I’m not saying a delayed reward like a graduation ceremony is not important/necessary, it is! But it depends on what the activity/reward is. (I’d like to see celebratory events/ceremonies as a social activity or rather a time to express gratitude to everyone involved)
For the case of value investing, to make it a consistent habit, build an immediate reward system such as a notification that tells you the compounded interest you’ve earned will keep you going. To build a habit, for consistency and sustainability, the best rewards are intrinsic and immediate, which they must go hand in hand.
Above is us celebrating the end of the 4 weeks long exams with homemade hotpot and Korean red bean pancake!
Celebration does not mean being attached to the outcome (extrinsic and delayed). It’s not about the outcome. If not, you’ll be chasing goals after goals without feeling satisfied. It’s celebrating while in the process of achieving (intrinsic and immediate). Being satisfied about the little steps we take along the way and the progress we’ve made. A recent example I’d like to give is saying “WOOHOO!” after I’ve managed to actively recall a chunk of information I’ve memorised the day before. It could be a phrase, sentences, numbers or paragraphs — give credits to yourself for the effort and progress! Celebrate yourself, try it!
At the same time, it’s staying in the present. In both ups and downs. Which brings me to my next point.
It’s the challenge that makes living worth living.
Only through challenge, doing hard things, that we will grow. Notice how mundane days pass by so slowly in the moment but are so easily forgotten in the long run. And how challenging days, days when you felt “I did something interesting today”, pass by so quickly in the moment but are remembered for long. Days didn’t feel like ‘it just went by’.
This past 4 months felt like it went by so quickly in a good way and the details are remembered. Arrived in Cluj-Napoca, asked and received help from numerous people for directions to get a SIM card, lovely smiles from locals… Toastmaster’s club meeting, kickboxing… Travelling around 5 cities/towns in Romania in 9 days, feeling homesick for the very first time… Searching and trying out study techniques that work for me.
Everyone has a limit, it’s about trying to push above that limit slightly. That’s when we’ll truly feel satisfied that we did it! Of course, not to the point of burning out.
Have a daily highlight (from ‘Make Time’ book). A goal of doing something challenging every day. What is one thing you know you should be doing but have been procrastinating on? (I bet it’s likely challenging) How can you break it down into smaller steps?
The activity has to be minimally 1h long so that you’ll actually feel like you did something.
Block out a time in your day to do your daily highlight.
Do it when you’re most energised.
And doing this daily for the next week, month, year… Imagine how much you would have accomplished instead of not having this in place and procrastinating? At least 365 things in a year!
Write content for my blog, understand the 8 principles of TCVM and basic acupuncture points, complete journal prompts, go for another Toastmaster’s club meeting and find a veterinary nursing job for my summer break. These are some of the hard things I’ll focus on in the next 2 weeks of the school break.
However, your daily highlight doesn’t always have to be challenging (yes, it can get a bit much). It can just be a self-care activity or a meal with your mum. Focus on a fundamental area of your life, taking a step towards progress. As a guide, find an activity within the 5 main areas of your life: health, relationships/social, career, finances, personal growth. Aim for 1% improvement every day.
Habits and meditation as an anchor
I know it sounds boring. But it’s that’s the thing about habits. Boring but its effects compound over the years. In the short term, it’s an anchor. In the long term, it creates a masterpiece of your ideal self. Akin to a ball that’s rolling on the ground with upslopes and downslopes. Habits represent the ball that’s going through life. Despite whatever that’s going on around it, it carries on rolling, without much thought. Meditation represents the ground — the foundation. A much needed stability in the ups and downs of life. The up and down slopes represents the celebrations and challenges in life that we all experience. And when you look back, you see the beauty the ball has painted.
They are like an anchor, fuel, foundation — whatever you may want to call it.
On days when I meditate (I do Vipassana meditation), I feel more at ease and lighter despite how ‘intense’ the day may be. Whereas on days when I don’t, the chances of me overthinking or procrastinating is higher. And I have to admit that I haven’t really been consistent with my meditation practice the past few months. Hence, it’s a habit I know I’ll work on. In fact, I’ll try to add another hour of meditation at night before bed.
My daily morning yoga stretches have been my anchor, especially during the 4 weeks of exams. Just 20 minutes of stretching after brushing my teeth and before I start my day of exams or studying. It has been keeping me in check, without it it just doesn’t feel right.
For you, your anchor can be going to the gym, doing sports, playing the piano, painting. It just has to be something healthy and energising. And definitely not scrolling through social media mindlessly and unintentionally.
Just imagine yourself having the perfect morning and night routine. Manifest it. Your morning routine supports the perfect start to your day — your energiser and flow setter. Notice how I did not mention it to be a mood setter. Starting a great day is not based on our mood. It really is just showing up for ourselves. Habits support that.
When your actions have become a habit, you’ll do it without much thought, you’ll get into your flow more quickly. In order to have a great morning routine, your night routine has to be great too. It’s a cycle, they are both interconnected. A great night routine has to be one that supports a good night sleep and sums up the day with a grateful heart.
Having your perfect morning and night routine can be summed up with this quote:
Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.
3-2-1 Rule
- 3 hours before bed: no food/alcohol/sweet drinks
- 2 hours before bed: no more work, use dim warm lighting
- 1 hour before bed: no more screen time
My morning routine:
6am: rise & shine, make bed
6.05am: wash up, brush teeth
6.10am: drink water
6.15am: morning yoga stretch
6.30am: meditate
7.30am: breakfast
7.40am: start my day
My night routine:
9pm: dim lights, meditate
10pm: wash up, brush teeth
10.05pm: journal (energy, learnt, give — see ‘action steps’), plan next day and decide highlight
10.15pm: read
10.45pm: sleep
(I haven’t been following my morning and night routines for the past 2 months from the change in my schedule. As it’s my first exams in vet school, I went easy on myself and wasn’t too adamant about sticking with the exact routine. Missed out some details but my main anchor was my daily morning yoga stretch and 2-3 times a week of meditation. And applying the 3-2-1 rule as best as I can, though some days I was still studying right before bed which clearly affected my sleep. Learnt from these ‘mistakes’ and now it’s about doing better with my routines for my next exams.)
Everyone is just amazing in their own imperfect way.
It’s such a blessing to get to know people. When we are genuinely interested in others, we will definitely learn a thing or two from them.
“Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn from him.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I know it sounds weird but I’m in the process of learning how to get to know people, build deeper and more meaning relationships with friends and family. The questions to ask in a conversation, and how to engage in a genuine conversation (will need to put the knowledge learnt from ‘how to win friends and influence people’ into action). I’m starting to really feel the importance of this skill in university because of how unique everyone is.
Having a deep conversation with a fellow vet school friend I just met from orientation led us to talk about TCVM and eventually signing up for an acupuncture certification course. It’s something I will be grateful for a long time to come. Now, it’s about how I can learn to make this kind of interaction happen more frequently. (I’ll update on my progress on future blogs!)
Give, give, give.
This shall be my motto for the coming months to years to come. When we take any action, it’s either for intrinsic or extrinsic reasons (not to be confused with intrinsic/extrinsic rewards). Even though for good reasons, extrinsic reasons always win.
Intrinsic reasons are more self-oriented: I’m doing this because I want to be liked/respected by others, I want to be great at coding, writing, cooking, I want to be rich etc.
Extrinsic reasons are more other-centered (wanting others to benefit): I’m writing to share because I want others to live slow, have a positive shift in their mindset/beliefs, learn from my mistakes and not feel alone in whatever struggle they may be having.
Relying on intrinsic reasons will not last for long and there’ll be a limit to your growth. You’ll be burnt out more easily. For example, I’m writing because I think I can make money from it versus wanting to help other grow with me, the latter reason will be one that will keep me going for a much longer time.
The greatest comedians, musicians, actors, doctors and scientists did not accomplish their greatest feat for self-centered reasons. That’s their greatest secret for consistency and happiness in whatever they do.
What is your greater why?
In everything we do, there can be both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. Even if it is becoming rich, who is it for and how can you help others with it? Strengthen your extrinsic reasons, let it blossom and keep you grounded.
For me, I realised that when my intrinsic reasons are overpowering my extrinsic ones, I tend to overthink, hesitate or have doubts. However, when my extrinsic reasons are stronger, knowing that I’ll help someone out there, I just get to work.
Give, there’s no reason not to. You’ll thank yourself for it.
Action steps
Find your anchor
Plan your morning and night routine. For a habit to form, stick with it for at least a month (2 months for best results). Or a healthy and energising activity — gym, yoga, piano, painting.
Decide on a daily highlight
You decide on it in the morning before you start your day or even the night before. Block out a time in your day to do this! Do it when you’re the freshest or most energised.
Criteria:
- at least an hour long
- challenging/outside your comfort zone OR
- touches on the 5 main areas of your life: health, relationships/social, career, finances, personal growth
Morning journal prompts
- what must I do today to go to bed tonight feeling satisfied? (your daily highlight)
- what will you do to energise yourself today?
Night journal prompts
- Energy: on a scale of 1-5, rate your energy level you’ve had throughout the day
- Learnt: what have you learnt today?
- Give: who and what have you given today? a smile, compliment, listening ear, time, effort?