[00:00:00] Kathleen: You are listening to The Thriving Lawyer with Kathleen Brenner and Carla Ferraz. I'm Kathleen, a highly experienced lawyer and an International Coaching Federation accredited coach.
[00:00:12] Carla: And I am Carla. Like Kathleen, I am an ICF certified coach and I have worked with top leaders and professionals, many of them lawyers, at some of the world's biggest organizations.
My focus is on using evidence based approaches to help my clients thrive at work and in the rest of their lives. Together,
[00:00:34] Kathleen: we bring you the Thriving Lawyer podcast, a podcast filled with ideas and inspiration, as well as practical tips to help you thrive as a lawyer and in the rest of your
life. Let's get into it.
[00:00:49] Speaker 4: Welcome to episode 19 of Season two of the Thriving Lawyer Podcast. I'm Kathleen Brenner here with my co-host, Carla Ferraz. Welcome, Carla.
Hello, Kathleen. Good morning. Thank you. Yes, at a fine morning. This morning from where I am in sunny Melbourne, it's a balmy 18 degrees, which for a midwinter day, it's quiet lovely.
So with the sunshine in mind, it's a good place to start. We are continuing part two of our special series on our course, the Thriving Lawyer. So last time we talked about the why, why we created the course, why we came together to create the course, and the challenges that we've seen in the profession and why we think that lawyers absolutely need more than just survival strategies.
And today what we're going to explore is what we actually cover in the course. What we want you to go away with by the end of this short podcast is a really clear picture, a clear understanding of how it works, how it can help you thrive, not just as a lawyer, but as a person.
[00:02:02] Speaker 5: So let's start here. So many lawyers tell us that they want more from their lives, more balance, more meaning, more energy, and that at times they really feel stuck.
So they're not sure where to start. And honestly, like the workload and the stretch, sometimes it makes, you know, it feels impossible to make a change.
[00:02:26] Speaker 4: I think that's right. And the truth is, you know, there are such cultural issues in the profession, and yes, they are being addressed. Yes, there is significant change, but it's nevertheless absolutely true that there's still in some quarters pressure for really high billable hours.
There are cultures of perfectionism, cultures of competitiveness, structural challenges in the way that pockets of the legal profession are structured. Here's the thing, we absolutely just can't change the culture overnight. And you as an individual lawyer might have limited levers that you can pull, but there is so much that is in your control.
And so what we wanted for this course was for you to be able to identify what was in your control and to start to make real change to help you thrive. Yeah.
[00:03:24] Speaker 5: And, and that's the why that, that we designed the program. So the Thriving Lawyer, it's a six week program, scienced informed and really helps you create your, your own unique roadmap to thrive not just in your profession, but as a lawyer, but in the rest of your life as well.
[00:03:44] Speaker 4: Yeah, and you know, as we talked about in the first half, one of the big frustrations that I came across was seeing these wellbeing seminars or programs for lawyers that were kind of, you know, a one hour webinar that tells you you just sleep more, eat better, maybe me meditate, and then lets you figure it all out on your own.
You know, there's no support. It's not very deep. And for busy lawyers, you know, I know what it's like when you've got all of those matters piling up that need your attention. The reality is the notes are gonna usually end up at the bottom of the draw. You know, it's too shallow to engage with, and quite frankly, too easy to ignore.
Yeah.
[00:04:24] Speaker 5: And the thriving way is different, right? Like yes, there is content, but the real magic is in the framework that it really invites you to reflect this practical activities. So we really teach you how to self-reflect in a way that can create really meaningful change in your life. And so it's informed by science or coaching psychology and positive psychology.
And behavioral science, and we are not telling you what to do. We are guiding you through exercise that help you clarify what is important for you. What are your values, what are your strengths? You know, set goals that truly matter to you, not just you know, the ones for the profession, but for yourself. So you will really walk away with habits and tools that you can actually use in your day to day life.
So it's very practical and, and I think like scaffold mentioned in, in the previous episodes, if you apply, you know, and work really hard, at least one area, you will get benefits, right. So, we'll, we'll, we'll just take a moment to, to explore the different. Modules, we'll walk you through the modules and see what are you getting, um, through each one of them.
So the course is divided into part. So in part one is all about understanding yourself and getting very clear on what you want your life to look life like, not just as a lawyer, but as a whole person. This is where you reflect on your values and what you are doing well in your vision for your very best possible self.
And then in part two it's all about the implementation. You know, it's where you'll take that self knowledge and turn then into actions to create meaningful goals. And then you go into building habits that actually stick. And then you are also learning strategy to sustain thriving in the long term. So Kathleen, would you like to just maybe speak to each one of the modules in part one and part two?
[00:06:31] Speaker 4: Okay, so maybe like, like modules one to three is part one, and as Carla talked about, you know, it's really about that clarity and creating the reflective space that you can begin to step away from that day-to-day busyness that you have to think about what it is that's really most important to you. What are the strengths that you really wanna draw on?
In part one, where we start, what we do is actually take time to step back from the busyness of your life and look at what does it actually mean to thrive. And you can consider what it would mean for you in your reality with your commitments, your work commitments, everything that you've got in your personal life, whether it's looking after kids, a as a parent, or.
Having other caring responsibilities or pressures, you know, we're going to introduce core concepts from positive psychology that you can apply immediately. What you'll walk away with that is a really clear understanding of exactly where you are now and some immediate changes that you can begin to experiment with without overwhelming yourself.
You know, it's very, very targeted to help you gain that clarity. Then in module two, we build on that. This course builds on each module, and what you'll do here is you'll take that time again with appropriate, reflective space to really think about and clarify what's most important to you. What are the strengths and values that you wanna bring to your work and life?
Think about where you are now, are at now too. And begin to learn and take action again in small ways to begin with, to experiment with how you can, you know, create and bring that best self to life, even when things get really tough, when you've got all of those legal advices waiting for you to do when life becomes stressful because of competing priorities.
Once we've done that, we're gonna move to module three. That's all about creating thriving life through perma and Perma, for those of you who dunno, is a really important model of wellbeing that has come from positive psychology. So it's all evidence-based, and what that does is looks at wellbeing through a prism of positive emotions, engagement and flow, the relationships that you have, meaning and purpose, achievement and health.
We'll also guide you and to experiment with practices that can really expand your wellbeing in each of those areas. Um, in module four, we shift from that initial emphasis on the clarity that you're going to gain to really, as Karl said, creating those. Goals and high level. You know, a lot of lawyers will be cynical about goals.
I know that they've been to too many sessions about smart goals Now. Smart goals absolutely have their place and are important. This is different in that what we are talking about is goals that you can actually achieve setting the right kind of goals. That can really support you. You know, those goals that are not just check boxes, um, that you feel that you should achieve.
This is about really creating the right goals that are flexible enough for you to adapt and experiment with as life gets really difficult, but, but can act as your kind of personal compass when things are challenging. Then again, we keep building on what you create and you also, as you go, you are expanding and then experimenting with that vision of that best self that you create, um, early on.
And so, you know, lawyers can get so busy with such pressures that sometimes the things that we need the most, like looking after our wellbeing, like doing, taking the time to do some kind of movement. Can get lost, for example, or we just become completely overwhelmed because of the amount of tasks that come.
And, you know, when you get stuck into that kind of mindset, can be really hard to hold onto that vision. But if you have that, um, and you have the right knowledge around designing systems, around creating habits, again, that are not too prescriptive, you know, they can be very much about experimentation.
They can help you really begin to really live those values, achieve and create the kind of thriving life that is unique to you, even when things get really tough. And then finally, we move to module six, which is all about sustaining your thriving life. And so in this final module, your practice tools that you can apply and come back to time and time again.
Things like challenging the limiting beliefs that you have, practicing a growth mindset, cultivating grit, and really applying what is a practical solution focused approach to really addressing the challenges that you have.
[00:12:13] Speaker 5: And that's really the key, right? Like the program isn't about quick fixes, is about creating lasting change, you know, with a really clear and doable framework that supports both your legal career.
Your personal life. So what you will walk away by the end of the program. It's like a really clear under understanding what thriving looks like for you as a lawyer and as a human being like, so you reconnect with what matters most for you, and set goals that actually bring you satisfaction, personal satisfaction, and create habits and mindsets that help you sustain that.
Changes that you are trying to apply. So in, in, in what we wish for you is that your career contributes to your wellbeing instead of draining it, which can be for some people. Right. So I think we really trust and believe what we've created. So we can't wait to see the, the, the impact that, the positive impact that it will have.
[00:13:18] Speaker 4: Yeah. I'm so excited about sharing this color. And you know, I do wanna say and be upfront, you know, we talked about earlier that challenge of the one hour seminar that we ended up just putting in the bottom drawer because it was all too hard. So one of the things that I wanna be really frank about is that, you know, we talked about the one hour Wellbeing seminar that is easy to put in the bottom drawer because it's all too hard and we dunno how to implement it now.
It's important for us to be really clear, like you do have to put some effort into this, but we have designed it in a way that we think you can absolutely manage this and fit it in a way that suits you with all your priorities. So even if you were to just spend one hour to two hours a week on this for the six weeks, you could make real change.
But of course, if you wanna go deeper. You know, the exercises that we give you might find that you wanna engage in a lot more reflection. And, you know, there are creative ways to do that. Some of the questions that we pose, you might be able to think about as you are doing your daily commute or going for that walk, um, you know, in little, in little spaces.
So, of course, if you wanna go much deeper. That's up to you. And of course, you can get coaching with us to really deepen the change that you can do, but we have designed this in a way that even with, you know, just a bit of time per week, that this can really make substantive change and make, make a real difference for you.
With, with that in mind, it's probably a good place to close the episode. Again, we will be launching on Wednesday the 13th of August. We will be doing a series of daily lives that week to talk about all things the Thriving lawyer, and we'd lo love to see you there. You can also find those lives on LinkedIn, Instagram, and there will also be an opening sale where you will get exclusive bonuses for a short period.
So. Look, we look forward to being able to share this with you. Thank you for listening. And as always, remember that a thriving lawyer starts with a thriving human. Thank you.
[00:15:47] Kathleen: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the thriving lawyer with Kathleen Brenner and Carla Ferraz, if you like it, please share it with your lawyer friends and colleagues, and tag us on Instagram at @thriving lawyer or on LinkedIn via the links in the show notes. And if you liked what you heard, please drop a review in apple podcasts.
It really helps spread the word.
If you'd like to work with us, check out our free resources and our signature course, the thriving lawyer which you will find at www.thrivinglawyer.com.au. You can also download our free guide, the lawyer's guide to thriving: a sustainable roadmap for success.
It's filled with great tips and ideas so that you can begin to make real change. You'll find the link to that in our show notes.
We hope this podcast has given you massive value. And that you can use it to begin to create your own thriving life. A life where you can thrive as a lawyer. And in the rest of your life.
