Recently I heard someone describe a life purpose that hit home for me. Her words “Run to the need to find satisfaction and meaning in your life” were validating for me but also made me think of all the young lawyers I know and meet who are grappling with so many career challenges today.
Long hours, high cost of living, shortage of affordable housing, challenging legal practices, and, of course, the remnants of isolation as a result of COVID. Your educations and resources will get you through most of those challenges, but it is the latter, the isolation, that I am concerned about the most.
The isolation experienced during COVID has affected the ability for many young people to get out and meet kindred spirits and have satisfying lives outside their careers. The promise of real-life connection can often seem to be a bridge too far. Those feelings and frustrations are very understandable and dating and other socialization cites are not the answer for many young people who desire something more organic. But, it is axiomatic that most people need other people. So sitting around talking about it is not the answer.
So, it might be time to “run to the need.” Not only your need, but the needs of others.
In my last years of law practice, I was not inspired by my clients or my practice. I was making money for people who already had enough of it, and I was turning a blind eye to some of my values. Although I was a partner in the practice, that did not make a difference. Personal satisfaction does not fall into categories like “associate” and “partner.” It is more about how you feel after a days work than it is about money and power. You may doubt that now, but it will prove true over time.
I was fortunate because I could run to a need I had identified many years earlier. That need was to address the challenges for young women lawyers and, eventually, for all young lawyers. I understood the progress that had been made in increasing the numbers of women lawyers from the paltry statistics of my day, but I also understood that so many challenges remained and needed to be addresses. I also was fortunate because I could afford to change my professional career from practicing lawyer to consultant.
However, most of you cannot afford a similar change. Nor should you. You rely on your income, and you are in the first phase of a career at a time when it is expected to be challenging. And you don’t have to tackle that need full-time like I did. Not even part-time. Instead, you can identify a need and devote as much time to it as possible.
For some of you, that need will be a self need. And that is alright, too, because self care has to come first. It is like putting on your seat belt or oxygen mask before you do it for others.
However, I think that the greatest satisfaction comes from fulfilling the needs that exist beyond yourself. From my days of teaching the children of immigrant farm workers on the Mexican border, to raising money for women and families in need in the DC area, to time spent as a board member of a not-for-profit land conservation trust and other projects in between, the unbelievable satisfaction that comes from helping others and improving conditions is like nothing else I have experienced in my life — with the exception of the love of family and friends. And it brings with it a community of people who share common goals and talents and enrich each other’s lives.
Whatever works for you. There are so many needs out there. Just run to the need and let it fill the gaps that are interfering with your real-life connections.
