Sharing What I Learned at a Wellness Conference

A few weeks ago, I participated in the Institute for Well-Being in Law’s 2024 conference. The Institute for Well-Being in Law (IWIL) is a non-profit organization that works to increase well-being in the legal profession. I was fortunate to attend a few sessions, and two in particular I would like to highlight in this post.

One of the sessions I attended was titled "Rethinking Thinking Like a Lawyer.” It was an interesting presentation overall, but there was one discussion point that was especially fascinating: pessimists excel as lawyers. This is because expecting problems to arise, as pessimists tend to do, allows attorneys to anticipate and prepare for potential problems that may occur throughout the representation and proceed with caution when necessary. However, this is problematic in the personal lives of attorneys since pessimism is associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes. The presenter discussed one exercise lawyers can do to limit pessimistic thoughts and practices called “Living Your Values.” The steps to this activity are as follows: 

• Think about the values that are most important to you.

• Identify your top five values you consider to be your highest priority.

• Reflect on your results and how you will apply them in your life and your work.

• Think about how your work connects to these values and your identity to improve your well-being.

Thinking like a lawyer can include connecting your work to your values and practicing your values. This will allow attorneys to be more optimistic and have better mental health. I have done this exercise and quickly noticed a change in my mindset.

The other session I want to highlight was called “The Perfectionist Paradox: Why Your Mindset Isn't Promoting Well-Being or Peak Performance and How to Cultivate One That Will.” Unsurprisingly, perfectionism is pervasive among members of the legal profession and law students. Perfectionism is the fear of failure, the fear of negative emotions, and the fear of success. I will address each of these separately.

The fear of failure prevents us from trying new things, challenging ourselves, and thinking outside the box. It impedes productivity since we freeze out of fear of doing something incorrectly. The fear of negative emotions leads to us distancing ourselves from other people, hiding our sadness, and judging ourselves. Finally, perfectionism relates to the fear of success because we grow increasingly terrified that we won’t reach high levels of success and admiration again.

For these reasons, perfectionism can prevent attorneys and law students from being their best. According to the presenter, rather than striving for perfectionism, we should instead strive for big picture perfection, which is striving for the best overall outcome that is obtainable under the circumstances. Those who are big-picture perfectionists approach their goals more realistically than perfectionists. They expect to encounter obstacles and detours, focus on the journey to their end goal, and realize that by caring for themselves and embracing positive energy, they can maximize their success.

The presenter suggested a few practices we can partake in to move away from a perfectionist mindset. They are as follows:

• Cultivate a growth mindset. Use the word ‘yet’ when you are facing a challenge. For example, if you failed at a task, tell yourself ‘I can’t do this yet’, which will prompt you to think about what you can do to learn and improve for next time.

• Cultivate self-compassion. Self-compassion is responding in a kind, nonjudgmental, and gentle way when confronted with negative experiences. Ways to practice self-compassion include guided meditations, journaling exercises, acknowledging your inner critic, suggesting a softer approach to the criticism you put on yourself, and being supportive of yourself.

• Reflect on a specific instance when you struggled with something but were then able to do it. Reminding yourself of a time you overcame an obstacle strengthens confidence and helps you do it again.

• Acknowledge common humanity, which is recognizing that everyone makes mistakes, and that pain and failure are inevitable aspects of the shared human experience.

• Practice self-kindness, which is showing yourself kindness and support in instances of suffering or perceived inadequacy.

I would like to conclude with one important thought. I was able to attend the IWIL’s conference for free as a student. Many organizations geared toward the legal profession allow law students to attend their events for free while other guests pay hundreds of dollars to attend. I learned a lot from going to these types of events as a student for free, and I encourage you all to do the same.