Stell: Positivity Is Possible – Even in Law

Alabama family lawyer Leigh Daniel felt her work was taking a toll.  She felt dissatisfied and miserable. In searching for resources to help, she found the work of author Mike Dooley and became inspired to create the law practice she truly wanted. She became intentional about her path to happiness and positivity, and it wasn’t long before referrals and business followed from clients who were also searching for a better experience. According to an article in Forbes, Leigh also managed to triple her income by promoting a positive and peaceful approach to divorce.

Benefits of Positivity

The Mayo Clinic says positive thinking offers many benefits, ranging from increased life span to better coping skills during hardships and times of stress. 

Having a positive culture in your workplace can reduce stress, increase productivity, improve client relationships, improve decision-making, and motivate others. 

The upside of developing a culture of positivity for your law firm is that everyone benefits from team members to clients.

Science of Positivity

Barbara Fredrickson, a psychology researcher at the University of North Carolina published a landmark paper on positive thinking. Professor Fredrickson theorizes that positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open your mind, which in turn allows you to build new skills that provide value to your life. 

Negative emotions do the opposite. Building skills for future use is irrelevant when your brain is seeing danger and your fight-or-flight response kicks in.

Path to Positivity

Negativity is contagious, but so is optimism. I’m view myself as an optimist – most days my glass is overflowing. That is because most of the time, I intentionally choose to see the day in that way. On the days I fall into office gossip or fretting about deadlines, I’m as gloomy as the next person. But the gloom weighs me down. My preference is to see the world through rose colored glasses. So, I set positivity as my default.

That may not work for you. So here are five tips to create your own path to positivity.

1. Look for small wins. It’s great to celebrate a successful financial quarter or a big court win, but it is equally important to keep your eyes open daily for something worth celebrating. I delight in positive comments from clients about the peace of mind they feel after a consulting call. Or a positive email about an article I wrote, or a compliment on an outfit I wore to work. These small moments make me smile and keep me encouraged during the day.
2. Encourage others. I love to spread positive vibes. I’ll compliment a new haircut or when IT went above and beyond to help me with a tech problem. Seeing others smile is contagious and I hope they will carry it forward and the office environment will feel uplifted.
3. Be intentional. Let’s assume that most of us want to be a part of something bigger. Leigh was helping her clients get divorced – solving their legal problem. But in a way that was making her firms and clients miserable. She set out on a path of intentionality to make family law less of a Hunger Games experience than a collaborative effort to move into the next season of life with hope and optimism.
4. Take time off. Work is busy and it’s hard to get away, but you will benefit from taking time off. Even a staycation affords you the chance to change your daily scenery and constant attachment to technology. You will feel more creative, refreshed, and energized when you return after some time away.
5. Use a positive vocabulary. Swearing seems more accepted in our society today. Studies suggest that swearing activates evolutionary structures inside the right half of our brain and that when we swear, our heart rate rises, activating the amygdala and the fight-or-flight response. And the rising heart rate can help us to alleviate pain – hence the midnight swearing when we stub our toe. Swearing also allows us to express strong emotions without resorting to punching someone. However, my personal experience is when I clean up my language, I clean up my emotions. When I avoid swear words and stop ruminating in my anger or frustration, it passes quicker. A positive vocabulary could lead to more positivity in your daily experience.

Law Life is complex, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. It is possible to change your mindset – and even the direction of your law practice – to a path towards positivity.

Camille Stell is the President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services and the co-author of the newly published book, RESPECT – An Insight to Attorney Compensation Plans available from Amazon. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualconsulting.com or 800.662.8843.