Ed. note: This post is by Jeena Cho, a Legal Mindfulness Strategist at Start Here HQ. She is the co-author of The Anxious Lawyer (affiliate link), a book written by lawyers for lawyers that makes mindfulness and meditation accessible and approachable. Jeena offers actionable change strategies for reducing stress and anxiety while increasing productivity, joy, and satisfaction through mindfulness.
The one theme I see that comes up repeatedly with lawyers is unhappiness and discontentment. I often hear lawyers say, “I’m so unhappy at my job but I can’t afford to quit. I’m working constantly so I don’t have time to explore alternatives.”
You are ultimately responsible for your own happiness and well-being. If you’re unhappy, it’s up to you to do something about it. No amount of feeling sorry for yourself, or complaining, or blaming is going to fix the deep sense of dissatisfaction and discontentment.
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That’s obvious and most lawyers I work with will easily admit that this is true. Then the next objection is some external reason for why they can’t find the time to cultivate their own happiness — I work 60 hours a week, I regularly sleep at the office, my boss emails me at 2:00 a.m., and so on.
They think the only way to “fix” their situation is to take some radical step. Quit immediately. Become a nomad, a writer, an actor, or whatever that secret dream may be.
One client I’ve been working with has always wanted to write fiction. She decided to go into law because she figured she would get a lot of opportunity to improve her writing skills and also do what she loves — write. Now in her fourth year in Biglaw, she loathes writing. She also has zero interest in reading because that’s what she does, all day long.