The hurdle so many of us run into when trying to leave the law is that all we have known ourselves to be in recent years is an unhappy, unfulfilled, not-the-best-but-not-the-worst lawyer.
What we in essence have been saying to ourselves is “Because I have been an unhappy lawyer, I still am an unhappy lawyer.”
“And I may always remain an unhappy lawyer.”
This logically doesn’t make sense
We know things change all the time. Nothing is set in stone.
So why are many of us so set in the stone of lawyer drudgery, non-mentoring partners, little professional training, stressful fiduciary duties, anxiety ridden deadlines, money issues, and overwhelming amounts of work?
Because we think our past has everything to do with our now … when in fact nothing could be further from the truth.
We cannot constantly focus our mind on all of the active, negative thoughts we have about our career as a law student and lawyer. Just because that is who we are now doesn’t mean we therefore still need to be that way, or still need to think that way or will always be that way.
We need to train ourselves
Leaving the law, and more importantly changing our life, takes practice. Like learning to do yoga, or learning to play piano, or learning to … be a lawyer, it takes practice to learn to leave the law, it takes practice to learn to gain spiritual momentum, it takes practice to consistently be aware of how we feel.
It takes practice to become aligned. It takes practice to create flow. It takes practice to gain clarity.
And when we unhappy, disgruntled, confidence-on-fumes lawyers put in the practice, we will arrive at a point where we are no longer controlled by our unhappiness, no longer controlled by our desperation.
We will attain the freedom to act differently than simply acting as we have done in the past.
We will no longer live in a space of problems.
We will live in a space of connectedness.
It may be hard to define, but we’ll know it when we feel it.
What we in essence have been saying to ourselves is “Because I have been an unhappy lawyer, I still am an unhappy lawyer.”
“And I may always remain an unhappy lawyer.”
This logically doesn’t make sense
We know things change all the time. Nothing is set in stone.
So why are many of us so set in the stone of lawyer drudgery, non-mentoring partners, little professional training, stressful fiduciary duties, anxiety ridden deadlines, money issues, and overwhelming amounts of work?
Because we think our past has everything to do with our now … when in fact nothing could be further from the truth.
We cannot constantly focus our mind on all of the active, negative thoughts we have about our career as a law student and lawyer. Just because that is who we are now doesn’t mean we therefore still need to be that way, or still need to think that way or will always be that way.
We need to train ourselves
Leaving the law, and more importantly changing our life, takes practice. Like learning to do yoga, or learning to play piano, or learning to … be a lawyer, it takes practice to learn to leave the law, it takes practice to learn to gain spiritual momentum, it takes practice to consistently be aware of how we feel.
It takes practice to become aligned. It takes practice to create flow. It takes practice to gain clarity.
And when we unhappy, disgruntled, confidence-on-fumes lawyers put in the practice, we will arrive at a point where we are no longer controlled by our unhappiness, no longer controlled by our desperation.
We will attain the freedom to act differently than simply acting as we have done in the past.
We will no longer live in a space of problems.
We will live in a space of connectedness.
It may be hard to define, but we’ll know it when we feel it.