Fear can negatively affect your learning, performance, and overall well-being. It can also cause you to avoid risk or stepping outside your comfort zone. Are you playing it safe by repeating something that you have been good at in the past, being complacent and comfortable? Think about your greatest achievements. Were they when you were feeling comfortable? Was it easy? Probably not.
As the song by Darius Rucker goes, ask yourself “When was the last time, you did something for the first time?” Next time you have the choice between taking a risk and doing something outside your comfort zone or choosing something that is comfortable, acknowledge your fear and ask yourself which choice would foster growth. Don’t stay stuck or complacent or settle out of fear. Don’t limit yourself, make decisions or take action (or inaction) based on fear.
Fear does not foster creativity or innovative problem solving needed to better serve your clients in the legal profession. In law school you may feel fearful in numerous situations in law school. For example, you may experience fear when a professor calls on you in class, when you go to your professor’s office to ask a question, during your first oral argument, or during a law school exam. If you participate in a clinic and appear in court you may be scared. Even after you graduate you may fear failing the bar exam, going on a job interview, or meeting a client. Acknowledging that you are fearful and understanding it is okay may help defuse your fear so that it doesn’t continue to have power over you. Check out Professor Brown’s helpful book on Untangling Fear in Lawyering that discusses the drivers, manifestations, and consequences of fear in the legal field.
If you feel scared you are probably pushing yourself or challenging yourself and that is a good thing. Like law school, training for the marathon was scary at times. My fears rose and receded at different times like riding a roller coaster with many highs and lows. I experienced fear throughout the training, swirling around the anticipation of the race, the need to stay healthy, and the ability to complete the marathon.
What are you afraid of? Why? A common theme is often failure. Failure can be a gift. Embrace it and learn from it. Failure does not define you. How you deal with failure does. Failure is an opportunity to learn and succeed. You do not need to be perfect. You don’t need to be fearless to attend law school or run a marathon. Acknowledge your fear but don’t let it prevent you from starting your new journey. It may be the courage to start the journey, not complete, that is the hardest.