Life & Career Coaching for Lawyers
Life & Career Coaching for Lawyers
We all have people in our lives who have challenged us but this particular exchange opened my eyes to some deeper work waiting for me to explore. What if cutting people out of our lives was the easy route? What if there was a better way (one that didn’t involve an epic showdown)?
If life was a race, is your current approach to worry, regret, and self-doubt handicapping your ability to move forward?
I don’t believe I’ve ever had a session or worked with a client that was not seemingly persecuted by Father Time. Many of us believe that we don’t have enough time, that we’re running out of time, or that there is simply too much to do. How much of this is fixable? In a recent session I had with a friend, I was surprised at the answer to that question.
As many of my clients and myself have concluded: just because we are attorneys does not mean that we are good bosses, leaders, managers, or mentors. So what do you do when you find yourself working with a boss (or any human for that matter) who is less of a leader and mostly just a jerk?
If I could teach my clients how to change other people, I would. You are never going to succeed in changing other people. So when it comes to other humans, coaching is largely about putting down the boxing gloves and walking out of the ring.
One of the struggles with being a lawyer, coaching lawyers is that I get it. I can 1,000% relate to the struggles and challenges female attorneys face. I know the pains of receiving emergent emails as you’re about to walk out the door to a funeral, the helpless fatigue and mild depression that sets in on your 10th straight day of working 14-hour days. How do we handle the demands of law?
Early on, many of us realize that working 70 hours/week does not create a happy life, no matter the paycheck. It is not exactly the life you dreamt of. We hate that having a family is often seen as a detriment to our career. We struggle with the notion that our personal lives must be planned taking consideration where we want our career to go. We stew and we ponder:
How can I make practicing law more live-able?
In my practice, I spent many a dark night wondering if I had made the right choice in going to law school. I cried in my office more times than I probably remember. I missed important events, skipped parties, and used work as an excuse more times than I care to admit.
Fancy degree, fancy office, fancy car, fat paycheck and miserable.
So, what do you do?
Do you ever feel confused about why you are not happier in your life?
You have a job that pays the bills. You have a home. You are healthy. You have family and friends who care about you.
Despite seemingly having all the ingredients to live a satisfied life, you just can’t seem to find happiness.
It always feels like something is missing or you catch yourself constantly wondering is this it?
Recently, I had a client ask me: Have you ever had a client that achieves all their goals and is just living the dream and happy?
She wanted me to say
Yes! I have made her life a dream. I can solve
ALL of your problems too, I promise. I can make you happy. I can make your life
happy.
But that wasn’t the truth. There is no happy ending. There is no happily ever after.