know thyself and embrace thy nature
"I'd call it a constant battle, but it's not. I've given up," he said. "I know I'm a people pleaser. I want to answer every email and be loved by everyone."
He laughed, at ease in our interview. "And at the same time, I want to be there for my family. I want to have time and energy for them. So it was easier for me to not fight my nature, but instead chose a job with natural boundaries so that I didn't have to fight my nature."
I nodded, frantically scribbling down everything he was saying. "I can go over and above in my job, and yet still have time for my family. Yeah, some evenings I'm working, especially when deals are closing, but I like to work hard."
This guy (yes, he was a happy lawyer) had been incredibly intentional with his decisions. He knew himself. He embraced his nature. And so he picked a job where the expectation and the culture was one of balance.
"It was just easier for me to find a job where all the lawyers there had the balance I wanted than to try to swim against the stream and create the balance I wanted at my old job."
I've seen people create the balance they want. For some, it's not that big a deal (maybe they don't want that much balance or maybe they're happy to buck the trend). For others, it's harder.
Know thyself. It's important for lawyers too (and everyone else 😊).
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