The Importance of Legal Unlearning

Success in the law requires learning new things practically every day. 

But sometimes what you unlearn is even more important.

For example, you were taught in law school to “think like lawyer.” But while doing so might serve you well in some respects, it probably won’t do much for your general wellbeing.

“Certainly, external factors like billable hours and client demands play a large role in creating anxiety and stress in the profession, but there are also internal factors created by thinking like a lawyer that deserve more focus,” says lawyer and leadership coach Andrea Gilliam in an article she authored for the ABA Journal. “Even if they do not identify with a diagnosis of depression or substance abuse, many lawyers, like me, have gone through daily life feeling distracted and unhappy. Ways of thinking—like always expecting perfection or constantly looking for pitfalls—became engrained during my legal career without my awareness of how it was affecting other areas of my life.”

Here are three habits Gilliam unlearned to improve her professional well-being:

• To unlearn: analysis. To learn: mindfulness. “Where your attention goes, your energy flows,” writes Gilliam.“Scientists now know that we can shape our brain through the way we think and behave. We can form new neural connections in our brains, and the more we practice new behaviors or thoughts, the more we reinforce these new pathways.”
• To unlearn: perfectionism. To learn: growth mindset. “In every profession, mistakes will happen. Yet in the legal field, there is often the expectation they won’t. But perfectionism makes us feel bad about ourselves and may keep us from trying new things. Fear is a poor motivator for success and for overall well-being. Mistakes are a reflection of growth, not worth.”
• To unlearn: winning. To learn: listening. “Knowing how to convince someone that you’re right is not a skill that translates into success in the rest of our relationships,” writes Gilliam.

Read Why you should unlearn certain valuable legal skills (abajournal.com).

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More Well-Being Resources From Lawyers Mutual

Here are three recent posts from the Byte of Prevention blog on wellness:

• Just 10 minutes a day could make a big difference in your law life. Micro Mindfulness Can Boost Your Law Life - Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company (lawyersmutualnc.com)
• If you’re having trouble maintaining wellness, BarCARES can help. BarCARES = Wellness for NC Lawyers - Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company (lawyersmutualnc.com)
• Want to live a vibrant life for a century or more? Lessons For Loving Life Until Age 118 - Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company (lawyersmutualnc.com)

SOURCE: Why you should unlearn certain valuable legal skills (abajournal.com)

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