Digging Into Lawyer Well-Being
Jun 20, 2022
We all likely have a vague idea about what that means, and it likely looks different for all of us. While different is great, defining what wellness to a lawyer is can help us as a profession become healthier and happier. Having a clear idea of what lawyer well-being is will give us concrete dimensions of wellness to work towards and can help us evaluate our current state of being.
The National Task Force of Lawyer Well-Being wrote a report that identifies six dimensions of wellness that are required for a healthy and well lawyer. They define lawyer well-being as “a continuous process whereby lawyers seek to thrive in each of the following areas: emotional health, occupational pursuits, creative or intellectual endeavors, sense of spirituality or greater purpose in live, physical health, and social connections with others.” Note that you do not need to be constantly and consistently excelling in all those dimensions to have well-being. Well-being is a process and requires of us to be seeking to better those dimensions. Let’s take a closer look at what each dimension means:
- Emotional- recognizing the importance of emotions; developing the ability to identify and manage our own emotions to support mental health, achieve goals, and inform decision-making; seeking help for mental health when needed
- Occupational- cultivating personal satisfaction, growth, and enrichment in work, financial stability
- Intellectual- engaging in continuous learning and the pursuit of creative or intellectually challenging activities that foster ongoing development; monitoring cognitive wellness
- Spiritual- developing a sense of meaningfulness and purpose in all aspects of life
- Physical- striving for regular physical activity, proper diet and nutrition, sufficient sleep, and recovery; minimizing the use of addictive substances; seeking help for physical health when needed
- Social- developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support network while also contributing to our groups and communities.
Now that we’ve defined lawyer well-being, I encourage you to take the first step towards well-being by evaluating your current state of being with respect to each dimension of wellness listed above. Be true and honest with yourself and remember that change takes time, but the results of the journey will be worth it! Good luck!
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