The Thanksgiving season is nearly upon us, so it’s appropriate to take a beat and take measure of where you are in your entrepreneurial journey.
- You are building a law firm.
- You’ve had massive challenges and huge successes this past year.
- You have a plan of action.
- Hopefully, you’re beginning to systematize the firm to finally break free of the grind, work fewer hours, make more money, and do the good work that you’re capable of doing.
It’s obviously important to grind–to put in the hard work of building your firm. Success is not going to happen by itself. Culture trickles down. Your other managing partners, your associates, your paralegals, your staff and even your interns will all take cues from your behavior.
If you don’t work hard, why should they?
But as important as it is to live this grind, you also need to celebrate accordingly. This doesn’t mean stopping down operations, throwing crazy parties or taking your foot off the gas. It doesn’t mean splurging your capital or taking a vacation in the middle of a huge case or crisis.
What it means is that you need to avoid deferring celebration until you’ve reached the goal.
After all, powerful research suggests goal attainment is actually not particularly satisfying. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have goals or shouldn’t shoot for goals. Sure, you should! But just recognize that actually reaching whatever finish line you’ve set will not suddenly make you happier. You must enjoy the journey–the present moment of crisis, opportunity, and chaos. Give thanks every day for the bounty in your life:
- Sure, you may not have the client flow you want. But maybe you have an amazing paralegal who smiles at you every morning.
- Yes, the client you signed up in the second quarter is making your phone ring off the hook and waking you up at night with acid reflux. But the fact you landed the big account in the first place indicates that your marketing is actually working.
Focus on what’s right, and you will automatically be more likely do more of that behavior. By practicing gratitude, you will find yourself happier, day-to-day, and more flexible. You will be more open. You will be more eagle-eyed at spotting new opportunities for growing, recruiting, and otherwise getting what you need from your law firm.
Happy Thanksgiving!
