Seasoned Artist needed by a head chef to that of an early lawyer in practice. What do you do to stand out or hold ground in the industry as a woman? For me “standing out” isn’t gender specific. There will be supporters and critics in any walk of life regardless of gender. I think it’s about finding like-minded individuals who foster similar values to yours and are willing to support and promote one another in your collective efforts. We also need to be introspective and ask ourselves, what is our ultimate goal in “standing out”? What is our purpose? What are we trying to achieve? Is there virtue in our efforts to stand out? I read a quote that said “attach yourself not to a job but a purpose, as that is where true peace and happiness will be found.” Finding purpose and meaning is one of the attributes of ‘flourishing’ in positive psychology. How do you cope stress, pressure, and/ or feeling unmotivated? And hasn’t the pandemic really tested us? The way stress affects us is a paradox. Too little leaves us feeling unmotivated and bored, but too much can result in us feeling anxious, on edge and even burnt out. The key is how we interpret stress. If we view stress as something negative to be avoided, we find ourselves suffering or ‘languishing’ as sociologist Corey Keyes put it. If we view stress as something positive to be embraced, we flourish. It turns out that instead of feeling inadequate in the face of anxiety these stress emotions become a signal that we are striving to reach our goals. The reality is that having a meaningful life, one that includes multiple commitments, goals and relationships will undoubtably result in stress. The more meaningful our lives are, the more
stress we experience. Worrying about the future means that you are focused on building a better one. Our mental health is something we need to be constantly checking-in on. If you look at stress from a ‘demands versus resources’ perspective, you will then be able to implement healthy coping mechanisms to the stressful situation from your own personal resource toolkit. This might be exercise, taking your dog for a walk or even 5 minutes of mindfulness. It will be different for everyone. I’ve recently taken up scuba diving and try to get down the Peninsula when I can for a dive. The main focus of diving in the early days is on your breathing. The breathing pattern you utilise underwater not only improves buoyancy and overall diving experience but also creates a more relaxed mind and body. Even the rhythmic sound of our bubbles as we breathe out contributes to a more relaxed and meditative state of mind. I find this helps to fill my cup and de-stress. What would you change about our industry? If yes, why. If no, why not? I prefer to refer to it as ‘transformation’ rather than change. We must acknowledge that our profession is constantly evolving and with rapid technological advancement, this is inevitable. We must not however leave behind the importance of legal ethics as the foundation of our system including our functioning as healthy lawyers. I often feel that legal ethics may have spent too much time focusing on the social role and function of the legal profession that it sometimes forgets the humanity of the lawyer themself. In this regard, my vision is that we reinforce how the individual lawyer can maintain their humanity and relationships whole exercising
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