Law Schools, Law Students

HEY, 1Ls: STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!

Don’t waste the law school experience by letting your internal negative dialogue plague you.

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Greetings, 1Ls across the country!

Allow me to share with you my memory of my first thoughts in law school.  They might seem familiar:

Wow, I’m not sure I should be here.  OMG stop calling on me.  I can’t take notes if …. jeez, call on someone else!  Wait, now I’m annoyed and not focused.  What did Prof say?  Crap, that was probably the key to the final.  I’ll have to get notes from someone else.  If they share.  What if they hate me?  Everyone looks intense.  Is this class a bunch of just-released homicidal maniacs?  Crap!  Quit calling on me! 

Or something like that.  My point is that law school can be overwhelming.  However, a little mindfulness can go a long way in allowing you to focus on learning, get used to the methods law professors employ in getting you to think like a lawyer, and learn how to adjust to all that is law school.  Here are the thoughts that you should keep in check  (and by keep in check I mean abandon completely):

  1. “Everyone is smarter than me.”  No, they aren’t.  Some people will pick up on some things faster than others.  Some might even pick up on everything faster than others.  But that doesn’t mean everyone is smarter than you.  That’s your “imposter syndrome” talking, the feeling you really don’t belong here.  It comes from your own insecurity and self-doubt.  As I’ve written before, don’t be your own worst enemy.  Focus on the readings, the material, and the present.
  2. “I just said the most stupid thing ever in class. Now everyone thinks I’m stupid.”  No, they don’t.  Even if you got an answer “wrong” and your professor was kind enough to tell you that (often they don’t), then know that a) other people were thinking the same thing and b) no one is going to remember what you said more than a day after you said it.  How do I know this?  Because when I teach I can’t remember who said what more than a day after it was said (in faculty meetings that time frame is blissfully shorter).  Those of us who went to law school can’t remember much of what was said then at all.   Our brains, in pure self defense, shut down those memories. Sure, you might get that one drama llama who is so insecure about himself that he rubs a not-so-brilliant comment in your face.  But that’s because he’s so insecure about himself he chooses to lash out at you rather than face his own securities.  Yeah, I know.  It’s like every damn episode of Glee, except he’ll likely not break out into song.  Be thankful for that.
  3. “I’ll never understand this reading. I’ll never be able to speak in class confidently.  I’ll never…..”  Never say never.  The minute you say or think the word “never,” you fill your head with a supersized wall of self-doubt.  Psychologists say that the biggest obstacle to success is the fact that you drag yourself down.  Visualize success.
  4. “What if I fail?  What if I flunk….”  “What ifs” are favorite hypothetical changers for law professors, but in the hands of students, they are anxiety provoking.  You’re essentially worrying about things in the future, not focusing on the present.  In fact, you’re making it harder to focus on the present because you’re working yourself up into a tizzy about the prospect of failing.
  5. “I don’t have time to… (insert here: have fun, sleep, work out, breathe, eat properly, etc.)”   Those things are important to facilitate studying.  If you were training for a marathon, you’d want to be sure to rest your body, eat properly, physically train, and all of that good stuff.  Law school is a marathon.  And if you’re fueling your body on Mountain Dew and Ding Dongs while living on three hours of sleep, you are eventually going to crash.  Your brain is not primed to absorb information or process it.

I suppose the bottom line is best said by the therapist Sean Stephenson: “Never believe a prediction that doesn’t empower you.”  While he was speaking to prisoners, the message is universal.  I’ve watched the video about 1,200 times, and each time I feel like he’s talking to law students (and insecure law professors, too.).

In short, 1Ls, you’re about to embark on an educational journey.  Don’t waste that experience by letting that internal negative dialogue plague you.   Good luck.  And we’re here to help you.

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LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here.  He is way funnier on social media, he claims.  Please follow him on Twitter (@lawprofblawg) or Facebook. Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com.

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