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Explanatory Thinking Styles: The Key to Resilience in Vet Med

  • Writer: Andi Davison LVT
    Andi Davison LVT
  • 2 days ago
  • 2 min read
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Veterinary medicine is full of both joy and challenge. On one hand, we have the incredible privilege of helping pets and their families every day. On the other, we face tough cases, long hours, and moments where outcomes are not what we hoped. How we explain those ups and downs to ourselves, our explanatory thinking style, has a powerful impact on our resilience and wellbeing.


What Are Explanatory Thinking Styles?

Psychologist Martin Seligman describes optimism not as “thinking positive” but as the way we explain the causes of events in our lives. In other words, when something goes right or wrong, what story do you tell yourself about why it happened?

We tend to lean toward two styles:

  • Optimistic thinking: setbacks are temporary, specific, and influenced by many factors. Successes include our own effort and skills.

  • Pessimistic thinking: setbacks feel permanent, global, and entirely our fault. Successes are chalked up to luck or outside help.

Neither style is “bad.” In fact, a touch of pessimism can help us prepare for challenges, like creating a backup plan for a critical patient. But leaning too heavily on pessimism can erode confidence, increase stress, and make it harder to bounce back.


Why This Matters in Veterinary Practice

Resilience, the ability to “struggle well,” as positive psychologist Chris Peterson put it, is essential in veterinary medicine. Cases do not always go our way. Clients can be difficult. Mistakes happen. But when we choose more optimistic explanations, we open the door to greater determination, engagement, achievement, and ultimately, thriving in our careers.

For example:

  • Pessimistic style: “I will never be good at anesthesia. I should avoid it.”

  • Optimistic style: “I am not confident in anesthesia yet, but I can practice and improve.”

The first story leads to avoidance and lost skill. The second leads to growth.


Talking Back to Your “Mind Chatter”

That little voice in our head, our constant “mind chatter,” is where explanatory styles live. The good news is, we can learn to challenge it. Try these strategies:

  1. Check your language.

    • Give yourself credit for wins. “I placed that IVC because I have been practicing” (not just because of a colleague’s restraint).

    • Remind yourself setbacks are temporary and specific. “I struggled with anesthesia today” is different than “I will never be good at anesthesia.”

  2. Use “evidence for vs. evidence against.”

    • When worry spirals, write down reasons it might be true and reasons it might not be. This balances perspective.

  3. Adopt the “I will handle it” mindset.

    • You have faced hard things before, and you have always gotten through. Odds are, you will handle this one too.

  4. Get curious.

    • Instead of assuming why a coworker or client is acting a certain way, ask. “The story I am telling myself is… Do I have that right?” Curiosity replaces assumptions with clarity.


Thriving, Not Just Surviving

Optimism is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about choosing explanations that keep us moving forward, even when things are tough. By practicing an optimistic explanatory style, we build resilience, protect our wellbeing, and create more space for the joy that drew us into veterinary medicine in the first place.



 
 
 
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