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Hey everyone, Scott Benton here. How are you? I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast where we help you easily transition from a law school student into your professional career as an attorney and where we happen to make the practice of law fun. Now today, we’re going to take a look at reframing setbacks and challenges.
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Today, in order to help assist your overall use of the success cycle, which is what we talk about on this podcast, in order to help you better understand the actual practice of law, a subject that is not taught in law school, we’re going to talk about reframing setbacks and challenges.
Setbacks in a legal practice can come in all forms. So it could be a ruling that doesn’t go your way, or a client who decides to just take a different direction. Or it could be a deal that suddenly implodes at the last minute. Moments like this can be frustrating, and disheartening, and even completely demoralizing.
But, here’s the truth. Setbacks are part of the whole package that you signed up for, and they’re not the end of the story.
The fact is that setbacks happen to absolutely everyone, and they’re [00:02:00] opportunities in disguise.
No matter how prepared or talented or experienced you are, you’re still going to bump up against obstacles that you just never saw coming. It’s easy to let these moments knock you off course, but it’s crucial to remember that setbacks don’t define your career. However, your response to setbacks does define your career.
What matters most is what you do next. So, will you let that setback derail your progress? Or will you find a way to turn it into a learning experience? Only you can decide which direction it goes.
Although it completely flies against your natural reaction, you can catch yourself before you get derailed and simply choose to reframe those challenges. Reframing means actively changing the way that you think about a particular situation. So instead of looking at a setback as a failure, reframe it. Or maybe you rename it as a challenge.
It’s an opportunity to learn, [00:03:00] adapt, and grow. It’s sort of the whole turning lemons into lemonade thing. That’s what you want to do with setbacks every single time. For example, let’s say that you lost a motion in court that you knew without question that you were going to win. Instead of letting it crush you, reframe it as an ideal chance to analyze what went wrong and what you could have done differently.
Was there a small gap in your preparation that caused you to lose? Did you miss a crucial piece of evidence? By honestly looking at your answers, not only are you preparing yourself for future success when the exact same situation comes up again, But you’re also turning a negative experience into a beneficial one.
And you’ll probably never make that same mistake again. In fact, each challenge you overcome adds to your overall experience. It builds your resilience and it sharpens your skills. Over time, all these many victories that you accumulate and the [00:04:00] lessons that you learn from setbacks and challenges Create a sturdy foundation that you can rely on down the road when even more significant and high stakes situations arise for you.
But let’s get a little more practical for overcoming setbacks. One of the first things you can do is take a step back to assess the situation objectively. You want to consciously interrupt that sudden burst of emotional energy by removing yourself from the situation altogether. That can be tough to do, especially if you’re emotionally tied to the event, or emotionally invested in it.
But, really take a step back and allow yourself to identify any lessons that can be learned. You can also adopt a mindset of continuous improvement. Look at every single setback as an opportunity to refine your approach or enhance your skills and become a better attorney and a better leader. This shift in mindset can make a world of difference simply in how you show up in your [00:05:00] presentation in handling those challenges.
And the more you do it, the more habitual it becomes. So force yourself at first, even if you absolutely hate it. Force yourself to be excited whenever another setback or challenge comes along and lean into the opportunity to siphon off the lesson it’s there to teach you.
A positive mindset is one of the most powerful tools you can possibly have in overcoming setbacks. But until it becomes your default setting, you’re going to have to work really hard at fighting that natural tendency to turn setbacks into complete disasters. This doesn’t mean that you completely ignore the negative outcome or pretend that everything’s fine when it’s not fine.
It’s about focusing like a laser beam on what you can control, and then taking proactive steps to move it forward. So get whatever you can out of those opportunities whenever they come along. A great way to cultivate a positive mindset is by practicing gratitude. [00:06:00] Now, even in the face of a setback, there are still things you can be thankful for, whether it’s the support of a colleague, a lesson you just learned, or the fact that you’ll have another day to try it again.
When you’re in a challenging spot, you can immediately jump into the exercise of recognizing everything around you that you’re grateful for, even if it’s simply the air that you breathe. Finally, once you’re outside of the emotional gridlock from the setback or the challenge, you really want to take a moment to reflect upon what happened. What did you learn? How can you apply those lessons better next time?
Reflection converts a negative experience into a priceless learning experience. And if you ask attorneys who’ve been practicing law for a couple of decades, they’re all pretty much going to be the first ones to tell you that they got good at practicing law by learning from their mistakes. In fact, they’re probably going to tell you that those mistakes were the best things that ever happened to them. So setbacks are inevitable, and they can also be an [00:07:00] invaluable part of your legal adventure. By reframing challenges and converting them into opportunities, maintaining a positive mindset, and learning from each and every experience, you can easily turn setbacks around to your advantage while on your path towards building your successful legal career.
I’m Scott Benton.
I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast. Thanks so much for tuning in and checking out this episode. If you like this podcast and you’d like to get more information about who we are, You can always go to our website at classroom2courtroom. com That’s classroom, the number 2, courtroom. com Where you can send us a message to keep in touch Or even inquire about our seasonal associate programs we have available for law school students You can come and work with us and as always, don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe to stay on top of all of our newest episodes.
And until next time, we hope you’ll join us in making the world a better place, one client at a time.
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