“There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full.”
Henry Kissinger
Like most lawyers, I am driven to succeed with my clients and colleagues. That creates daily internal stress. When I added moving a practice, my stress levels increased because I was now dealing with something relatively foreign to me. I needed to move from building client relationships to letting them go. Doing this during a pandemic did not make it any easier. I was also doing so in an atmosphere where I knew I would soon become an employee at will, where success in executing my plan might also be tantamount to signing my exit pass. The yin and yang of the process created significant stress. Stress to succeed and get it done just as I promised, and stress associated with no assurance that my reward would be worth the sacrifice. Would we lose a client? Would the new lead attorney do a good job? Would the firm just cut me off at the end of the program?
We each have different ways of relieving stress. As I did, you must find your own if you will undertake a planned approach.
For some, it is exercise and sports. For others, it is reading a book, watching a movie, or sitting in front of a television and enjoying your favorite show, newscast, or sports team. Better yet, for some, it is going to ballgames or parks to get outside for some fresh air. Your ways of relieving stress may be entirely different. Nevertheless, you must identify and allow time to include them in your daily routine.
For me, I go out with friends, play golf (or try to), float in a swimming pool on hot days reading a book, take walks or bike rides, do crosswords, drive my golf cart around the community where I now live or, better yet, relax in the evening with a good Irish whiskey and a fine cigar. I sit quietly and contemplate the world without pressure to solve anything. While the whiskey and cigars are among my top stress busters, I am careful not to take them too far.
Look at how you deal with stress today. Is it working? Do you think you can handle increased stress without a plan? Without outlets? Without help? Think again.
