The Case for More Self-love in the Legal Profession
| Publication year | 2023 |
| Pages | 0056 |
| Citation | Vol. 28 No. 4 Pg. 0056 |
Attorney Wellness
Self-care isn't a luxury. You can't love yourself if you aren't willing to care for yourself.
BY JOY WHITE
"Loving yourself isn't vanity; it's sanity." —Katrina Mayer
These days, concepts like "self-love" and "self-care" are used almost daily on social media and mainstream media. Meanwhile, many lawyers are rushing from deadline to deadline without giving either of these concepts much consideration.
Unfortunately, many attorneys struggle to realize that they can't love their work or anyone else until they love themselves. Even with countless self-help books, webinars, wellness coaches, gurus, religions, meditation, yoga and even CLEs, the legal profession can't seem to embrace this fundamental concept of life: You can't be happy until you love yourself; you can't be satisfied until you love yourself; you can't be balanced until you love yourself; and you can't achieve true professional success until you love yourself.
What Is Self-Love?
Self-love is about accepting and loving yourself for who you are while ensuring your actions and behaviors follow suit. That said, it's hard to love yourself when truly:
• You are your own worst critic.
• You judge yourself more harshly than you judge others.
• You engage in self-destructive habits and behaviors.
• You doubt your abilities.
• You question your worth.
• You engage in negative self-talk.
As members of the legal profession, "self-love" is essential for your mental and physical health, and though most of us claim to have a healthy amount of selflove, our actions say otherwise.
Self-love can be entirely different for different people, but what's most important is whether or not you're practicing a healthy amount of self-love and self-care as part of your daily routine.
Why Is Practicing Self-Love Important for Lawyers?
Self-love to some people, might sound like an entitled way to justify their selfishness.
In truth, self-love is essential to be balanced and content in our lives, especially for attorneys and other members of the legal profession.
When you are committed to self-love:
• You will have less doubt and fear.
• Your relationships will be more fulfilling.
• You will be less anxious.
• You will feel more satisfied and fulfilled in life.
• You will see more opportunities.
• You will be capable...
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