When I look back on the past few years here in Brazil the things I have achieved barely seem possible. What is for certain is that the young man who came out here with two suitcases of books and one of clothes no longer exists. The challenges of being out here and solving problems has been performance-enhancing beyond belief.
I think I was the first person to bring falconry and hawking to the Central-Westen state of Mato Grosso. That is now practiced by two people. One, Miguel, flies a female aplomado falcon and a plumbeous kite. The other, Emerson, flies a male aplomado.
I am also about to be the first Briton to qualify as a Veterinary Surgeon in Mato Grosso. And if you thought veterinary medicine is about animals, think again. It is about people.
The reason I started this blog, in fact, was to think through the problems I was facing on my clinical rotations as a person older than the rest of my team, from a different culture, speaking a different language, and with different interests (wildlife). I also learned what narcissism meant, as I had to work with somebody displaying narcissistic tendencies.
I considered giving up twice: in the third semester and at the start of the ninth. That is, at the start of the clinical rotations when I had to work with this person. I suppose you could say I was bullied, though at my age and status in life I don't recognise myself as having been a victim of bullying.
Instead, I felt angry. Angry that having to deal with some difficult characters really detracted from my full enjoyment of the clinical rotations. Secondly, it made me a stronger person. This 'bullying' made me sit down back in March and come up with a strategy on how to deal with the situation. It was a valuable experience. It taught me to think in terms of 'mindset'. That is, mental atitude and fortitude. I remember I used to arrive early and do some body language exercises to pump up the testosterone and decrease my blood cortisol so that stress was reduced and I felt stimulated and ready to face the World. Or rather, my clinical team. Yes, performance is all to do with hormones. Serotonin, oxytocin and testosterone are the ones you need, and I discovered useful exercises via a Vanessa Van Edwards vídeo on boosting your performance. It is also helpful to the PUA guys to get into the zone.
Now the course is all but finished and I face the decision of returning to Britain or staying in Brazil. What an enormous cop-out it would be to not practice veterinary medicine if I returned now to my home country. If I say, I can at least practice. So if anybody in Brazil wants a bilingual vet with a passion for surgery amd fish farming and international business.... I qualify in January.
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