Why are some people pessimistic while others are optimistic? A researcher asked this same question. The researcher placed two children, one a pessimist and the other an optimist, alone in separate rooms.
He led the glum pessimist to a colorful room full of all kinds of imaginative toys. Then he took the smiling optimist to another room filled with horse manure.
After the first child carefully played with the toys for a while, he asked, “Can I leave now. These toys are boring, and they break too easily.”
Around this same time, the manure-spattered young optimist scampered to the door also. She asked, “Can I have a shovel?”
When the puzzled researcher asked why, the little girl replied: “With all this manure around, I know that there must be a pony in here somewhere.”
This story in different variations has been around for almost one hundred years. The pessimist can only see the problem while the optimist only sees the opportunity.
Lawyers Pessimism vs. Optimism?
Lawyers, as a group lean towards pessimism. Lawyers are trained to study the facts. “Optimism is a little like red wine,” said Duke finance professor and study co-author Manju Puri. “In moderation, it is good for you; but no one would suggest for you drink two bottles a day.”
Optimism can make you overly confident in your position, ignorant of opposing facts, and reluctant to examine every aspect of an issue. None of which is valuable or desirable in the practice of law.
Surveying law students at the University of Virginia, he found that pessimists got better grades, were more likely to make law review and, upon graduation, received better job offers. There was no scientific reason. “In law,” he said, “pessimism is considered prudence.”
What exactly is pessimism? Distrust, doubt, gloom, glumness and the tendency to expect the worst, to emphasize only the bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions or problems.
Optimism, on the other hand, is a disposition or tendency to look at the most favorable side of events or conditions and to expect a favorable outcome. Words like certainty, confidence, cheerfulness, and hopefulness, looking on the bright side accompany every optimist.
Just like the two children mentioned earlier, the outlook is what distinguishes a pessimistic attorney from an optimistic attorney. Here are five differences.
5 Differences Pessimistic Attorneys vs. Optimistic Attorneys
Difference No. 1: Problems
Pessimist: People come to lawyers with problems. Clients are generally unhappy, angry or dissatisfied people. Pessimists become worn down and engrossed in battling one problem after another. This stance bleeds over into their family and other personal relationships. There is an imaginative cloud over this attorney’s head that follows him or her no matter where they go.
Optimist: These lawyers are excited about negotiating agreements or spending hours on Westlaw. They being in the relationship with clients and try their best to solve their problem. They like practicing law so much, they are not fazed by the potential tear-downers and anticipate problems as challenges and even enjoy a good battle. Optimists are open and always seeking support.
Difference No. 2: 50% Chance of Loss
Pessimist: When an attorney takes on a case, he or she must consider and delve into the worst possible scenario. The lawyer has a 50% chance looming overhead, and they might lose any case. The pessimist becomes worn down over time, feeling stressed and discouraged. Bleakness can accompany every loss.
Optimist: Although they know someone somewhere may rip their argument to shreds, they don’t care because they are confident, secure, and in some ways, above it all. Even optimists have losses and discouragement. However, they find a way to shake it off and don’t allow themselves to take it personally. They insulate themselves with practices like exercise, activities, family time or speaking with confidants for continued mental adjustments.
Difference No. 3 The Opposition
Pessimist: An attorney must always prepare for bad outcomes. Even though a lawyer spends hours, days, weeks, working on a brief, putting their ALL into it, there will be an attorney out there, both inside and outside of the firm, waiting in the wings, to punch holes in your argument. The pessimist maintains that no matter what they do, they will never win.
Optimist: Again, the optimistic lawyers do not take themselves too seriously. They refuse to think the world is coming to an end because a judge or jury rules against their client. Although they always do their best, the understanding that “you lose some and win some” helps them to take it all in stride. They refuse to beat themselves up or put themselves down when a case is lost someone punches holes in their brief. Their attitude is not whether or not they win or lose a case, the most important part of a personal victory is that they did their BEST.
Difference No. 4: Billable Hours
Pessimist: Practicing law, particularly if you are at a firm, is a time-based practice. And it’s about billing, billing, billing. And when an attorney does not bill, someone else certainly will. There are no timeouts for illness, for hobbies, for sick children, for episodes of depression. An hour not billed is an hour wasted.
Optimist: This attorney seeks out people who care about and support each other. Although they appreciate the importance of the billable hour, the optimist also recognizes the supremacy of family, of mental health, of the bigger picture, and that makes ALL the difference. I find that most of my clients are lawyers who always want to be better lawyers.
Ron, one of my clients, was tired of being surrounded negativity. He hired me. He said, “Pamela speaking with you twice every week has spiked my enthusiasm, increased my numbers and productivity.”
I always say that lawyers are “Athletes for the Law.” No athlete would think of not having a coach. I always include my contact information at the end of my posts for anyone who wants to ask me a few questions.
Difference No. 5: Happiness versus Unhappiness
Pessimist: They hate practicing law and feel stuck in a profession that drags them down. These unhappy lawyers can be extremely miserable, bitter people. Unfortunately, unhappiness allows stress and anxiety to breed, spread, and flourish, and chokes out any time for enjoyment of their life at work or at home.
Optimist: These lawyers connect with a sense of fulfillment or a belief that what they’re doing really matters! These enthusiastic attorneys find encouragement by speaking with other pleasant co-workers who also love practicing law. They build a team around them which includes an array of lawyers in their practice group, other practice groups, another firm, mentors, and coaches to keep them built up even during the difficult times.
Practicing Law is Not Easy
Being a lawyer is one of the most difficult professions. The pessimist gravitates towards all of the downsides of practicing law, the long hours, the stressful environment. There is scientific data that suggests that one is born with a tendency towards pessimism. Be aware and as the Professor at Duke said about optimism, don’t “drink two bottles” of pessimism each day. Get support if needed but resist the bleak darkness of eternal and unchanging life as a pessimist.
Obviously, there is a range between pessimism and optimism. The nature of law is a pessimistic view. However, using pessimism as a tool for fact-finding, discovery, briefs, etc. is necessary. However, don’t let pessimism infect you as a person. A lawyer finds that there is significant value in being able to determine the downside, to consider what might go wrong and to expect the worse. However to immerse oneself completely in pessimism leads to unhappiness and disharmony.
Happy lawyers explain the source of their happiness in many unique and unusual ways. The common denominator is that they connect with the greater cause of law. They enjoy what they do on a regular basis. and can’t imagine working in any other profession.
I have found when lawyers strive to be credible, civil and passionate about any endeavor; they find peace and contentment in their law practice.
There is a saying problems are a part of life. However, misery is optional. What choice will you make today?
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Links: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/3134/optimism/#ixzz3zpHb6Hwy
Pessimism Is Considered Prudence http://abovethelaw.com/2014/10/pessimism-is-considered-prudence/://abovethelaw.com/2014/10/pessimism-is-considered-prudence/
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