CASS DA RE
<Features Editor>
Maybe law school attracts over-achievers. In fact, I’m sure it does. It may have been that you padded and packed your law school application to strategically demonstrate what a well-rounded, philanthropic, and diverse student you are. You listed all your extracurricular activities, likely waned and waxed about working yourself through undergrad, and described how you honed your time management skills as a research assistant and graduate student. Maybe it’s habit, or maybe it’s the fact that we never stopped filling out applications (replace law school with job), but it seems like the padding and packing never stopped.
Now your extracurriculars might include the Obiter Dicta, SALSA, HOLA, RELA, OWN, ILP, OUTlaws, Legal and Lit, Student Caucus, Mock Trial, or one of the stellar academic journals, to name just a few. Unless you are particularly privileged, you are likely working part-time to stay on top of student debt and tuition fees. Lastly, your time management skills have never been so honed, as you are likely doing extra research for a professor, took on a peer mentor, or are a Dean’s Fellow or Dean’s Tutor. Of course, it’s not all for nothing.
Your busy and demanding life is documented and codified in your golden CV. Besides the altruism, the giving back to the community, and pursing your passions outside of school, which are all commendable; ultimately, all of this effort demonstrates what a well-rounded, philanthropic, and diverse job applicant you are. That’s why we say yes. Yes to all the opportunities, openings, and organizations. We say yes to overwrought schedules, lunchtime meetings, and too many late nights. We say yes to spending more time on school-related things than on actual school work. As your Happiness Guru, I ask you to say yes one more time, to my advice to say no.
Steve Jobs famously said, “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things.”
Despite your over achieving, over eager, ready to take on the world and a bag of chips disposition that compels you to say yes, say no. Give yourself permission to focus on the most important things, tasks, and people. Forgive yourself for not being able to do it all; no one expected you to. The dirty truth that nobody wants you to know is that no one is capable of doing and having it all. Lastly, stop pursuing prospects for the sake of the pursuit and on the possibility that it will impress someone, even the right someone. Law school is harrowing enough all on its own, without the added pressure and time constraints.
Get back to basics. Ground yourself by prioritizing the essential and eliminating the extra and unnecessary baggage. By doing so, you will likely rediscover a sense of peace and regain a sense of balance. Moreover, by unloading your schedule, you will have more time for innovation, improvement, and enjoyment. Put your energy where your priorities lie. Be great at fewer things, rather than mediocre across a very busy board. You’ll be happier, and better rested for it. Say yes to saying no, and see how much further that takes you in life, in your career, and in your path to happiness.