Most lawyers think they are smarter than most people. 

Let me explain…

It’s not that we believe people aren’t experts in their field or more intelligent than us. We know that to be true.

It’s just that law school teaches us that all people, even the really smart ones, make emotional, illogical decisions. Lawyers, on the other hand, are trained to look past emotions. 

The Gift of the Legal Brain

Lawyers analyze the hard evidence, assess risks, and determine the best path forward by looking at the facts. Then we use those facts and our analysis of them to help our clients. 

Because we are trained this way, we believe we have a superpower that non-lawyers don’t. We can suspend our emotions, biases, and beliefs to find the truth. So while other people might get caught up in the drama of the moment, we are not swayed.

The ability to look past emotions and investigate facts serves us well when helping our clients with legal problems. But what they don’t tell you in law school is that a “facts-only” approach is a terrible career (and life) planning strategy.

The Curse of the Legal Brain

Humans are emotional, social animals for a reason. Our feelings let us know whether something is right for us. Our emotions tell us whether we should lean in or walk away. 

When we ignore those feelings in search of “the facts,” we end up in an endless research loop looking for some book or resource that will give us the answer to fixing our careers (and our lives) when those answers can only come from within. 

Let me give you an example from my own life. 

For a long time, I knew that I wasn’t happy with my job. Every day I felt worse and worse at work, but I stayed because it paid the bills. Or so I told myself. I also told myself that no one was ever really happy at work and that it was immature of me to even hold on to that desire. 

But those were my thoughts at the time. When I took a long, hard look at how I felt, I realized that I was staying for another reason.

I stayed because I was afraid. I questioned whether I had the ability to create a career that I enjoyed and was financially sustainable. I wasn’t sure that I was smart enough, qualified enough, or worthy enough to create a business and career I loved. I felt like someone greater, better, smarter, and more together got to have what they wanted in their career, and I should be happy with what I had.

Even though I had those fears, what propelled me forward was that I was more terrified of spending 8-10 hours a day for the next 30 years at a place I hated. And whenever I thought of leaving and venturing out on my own path, I felt lighter, happier, and free. Eventually, I concluded that I wasn’t willing to trade my chance at being happy now for 30 years of misery and a retirement account. 

Listening To Your Feelings = Happiness

Deciding to follow that lighter, happier, and free feeling profoundly changed my career and my life. And it was that decision, the decision to look to my feelings to lead my life decisions, which led to my greatest happiness.

If this is you. If you are terrified both of spending the REST of your life this way AND of starting over, If you want something better but aren’t sure that it’s even possible, 

I am here to support you through the steps of doing SOMETHING instead of staying stuck.

YOU are worthy of more.

I can help.