Hello,

This will be my first ever post to a forum of any sort, so bear with me please! I am 23, going on 24. After graduating from college I dived into a position as a Veterinary Assistant, in the hopes that it would lead me towards a career in Animal Behavior. I love working with animals of all kinds, specifically dogs, and have taken steps to gain knowledge and experience in this field (although not, I guess, in a formal education environment).

Anyways, my problem does not lie with my field of study, but in the way I handle a working environment. My year as a Veterinary Assistant started off well, and I meshed quickly with most of my co-workers. I learned the rudimentary responsibilities of the job quickly, was positive and communicative, and saw a bright future ahead. Then, about 7 months in, something changed. I can’t really say what, but I began making mistakes. I had made mistakes before while on the job, and took them in stride, learning from them and bettering my job performance in the process. But these mistakes seemed to… hit me harder, I guess. I will say that most of them resulted from my keeping silent. If I had questions, I didn’t ask them. If something frustrated or upset me, I didn’t share it. My superiors would point these mistakes out, and I would literally break down in tears. The mistakes kept piling up, no matter what I tried to change about myself or my environment. Eventually, they resulted in my quitting my position and moving on to a Dog Boarding and Daycare facility in town.

At B&B the story is similar. I performed above and beyond expectations, and received promotions very quickly. Then B&B bought out another kennel in the area, and I was asked to become a Kennel Manager there. I took on the challenge with confidence, and did my best to meet the demands of the new business. As the facility became busier, the demands of my position grew, and I started making mistakes again. When these were pointed out to me, I took them in stride. But because of my previous experience as a Vet Asst, I became fearful of being found lacking. As a result, communication with my superiors broke down as I tried to overcompensate for my shortcomings and “read the bosses’ minds” to avoid making more errors. Now, I have missed a crucial raise in pay and have lost the trust of the business owners.

I recognize, at least in part, that my problem lies within my communication (or fear of communication). My question is this: how can I overcome this fear? B&B has been nothing but kind to me, and has taught me so much about the ins and outs of the doggy business. I have shared my goals and dreams with them, and they are nothing but supportive, even offering me new opportunities to learn. What has caused me to become so fearful of sharing my faults with them as well? And how can I resolve this insecurity?