Most people have never heard of Ellen Langer’s 1979 Counterclockwise study where a group of elderly men were asked to live for one week as though it were 1959. The retreat center where they stayed for one week was redesigned to make it appear that they were living in the year 1959. I’ve referenced the study before, but it came to mind again yesterday when my body was reminding me of my age. The results of the study were remarkable. After only one week of living in this environment, the men stood taller, their joints loosened, their memories sharpened, and their eyesight improved. By changing their mindset, they changed their health.

Langer’s experiment demonstrated what she calls mind–body unity. This is the idea that our perceptions can literally influence our physical reality. When the men were surrounded by the music, magazines, and decor of their younger selves, their bodies responded as if that youth were still present.

It’s easy to dismiss that as a fascinating study about aging. But for lawyers, it’s really a study about agency. The Counterclockwise experiment reminds us that context shapes capacity. When we’re surrounded by cues of exhaustion, scarcity, and competition, our bodies absorb that message. We slump. We tighten. We fatigue. But when our surroundings, or our mindsets, signal competence, curiosity, and possibility, we rise to meet challenges. The same lawyer, in the same body, can feel energized or depleted, depending entirely on the stories they’re living inside.

In other words, the law doesn’t age us as much as the way we practice does. When every day feels like triage and worth is measured in billable hours or battles won, the nervous system stays locked in a low hum of survival mode. Over time, that takes a toll. But when we bring curiosity and presence to our work we can turn stress into engagement. 

So how do we go counterclockwise in daily practice? Start by noticing the cues around you. Your cluttered desk, your inbox,  and even your posture can send messages to your brain about who you are and how old or tired you feel. Change the cues, and you change the chemistry. Add something beautiful to your workspace that reminds you of possibility. Replace “I have to” with “I get to.” Seek out colleagues who energize you instead of drain you. The brain loves novelty.

The limits we accept about aging, energy, creativity, or resilience are often just stories we’ve told ourselves. The law will always demand much from us, but it doesn’t have to take everything from us.