Embracing their inner chicken? Most lawyers are loathe to admit that they have felt fear while practicing law, despite it being a normal human emotion. This may be one of the reasons why lawyers suffer from disproportionate levels of mental health and addiction issues, and why attorney well-being is in decline. Revisiting and addressing fear is something that attorneys can do to work towards better mental health, relationships and a productive legal career. When in doubt, seek out help. It will pay dividends for years to come.
“”Chicken?” Why not? I would like to talk about a subject many of us in the legal profession are afraid to discuss: fear. As lawyers, our work can be stressful, leaving us gripped with fear. This must be a relevant issue, as with my glance at a thesaurus, I note that there are at least three synonyms for fear beginning with the just letter “a” alone—namely “anxiety,” “alarm” and “angst.” Can an exploration of fear help us in our practices? Napoleon, in describing military genius, said something like: The true genius is the one “who can do the average thing,” when those around him grow hysterical with emotion and fright.”