Life & Career Coaching for Lawyers
Life & Career Coaching for Lawyers
I don’t know. Have you ever noticed how often we use that phrase? When we think about verbal pauses, many of us immediately think of “um” and “uh” but we often forget about this funny little string of words that we throw around to fill awkward silences or to deflect our discomfort. Today, we consider how these three little words, when used unconsciously in this manner, can rob you of your credibility and make you a liar.
Practicing law, like all professions, will certainly come with its own unique decisions to be made: partnership, other opportunities, solo practice. How to know if you are running out of time to make important decisions.
Every time we answer late night phone calls and emails, we are expressing our values not only to ourselves but those around us. In that expression, others will learn to anticipate where they fall on your hierarchy of values. If they are at the top, they will keep coming at you 24/7. How to deal.
Finding yourself overworked and overwhelmed? Saying “yes” when you want to scream “no”? Why do we do this to ourselves and how do we stop the madness?!
When it comes to practicing law, our minds and our internal conversations will be our greatest assets. It won’t be the accolades and background that make or break your practice. It all comes down to your relationship with yourself and the internal discussions no one hears but you. Given this, it seems that the greatest tool we must understand and hone is that magical mind of ours. Specifically, why is it that our mind sometimes goes rogue and makes it seemingly impossible to move forward?
One of the reasons so many of my clients struggle with time management is because of the expectations they put upon themselves. In order to become a lawyer and snag that great position at that amazing firm, we bust our asses. We have grit and tenacity and that is what gets us to this place. That grit and tenacity is also what sets us up for this battle with time.
In a profession where the only feedback you typically get is negative feedback, how do you keep those experiences from making you paranoid?
Our beliefs about ourselves and our abilities bubble below the surface in everything that we do.
I can support you to identify your negative thinking patterns and shift to some prettier thinking but if the beliefs you have about yourself are toxic, none of our work will stick.
One of the primary reasons that my clients struggle with the practice of law is that they often feel like their life is out of control. We want to believe that we don’t have any control. We want to believe that work overload just happens to us and we have no role to play in it.
But that is only true if you decide to make it true.
There are many ways people make decisions in every moment. What I find interesting is that so many of us are willing to hand over those decisions to others. Rather than making a conscious decision, we (subconsciously decide to) answer to whomever or whatever is immediately before us. There is a better way.