In a profession that praises productivity, performance, and profit above all, joy can feel irrelevant. But what if prioritizing joy was the key to your success?

In The Happiness Advantage, researcher Shawn Achor, writes:

“When we are happy . . . we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful.”

The Pressure to Perform

As lawyers, we’re taught to prioritize billable hours, client wins, and productivity above everything else. As a result, we may internalize the idea that our value is tied to our output.

So we work harder. We push through exhaustion. We achieve. And many of us end up depleted or disillusioned.

We wonder:

• Is this what success is supposed to feel like?
• Why do I need to push myself so much?
• Am I allowed to want something else?
• Is this as good as it gets?

Prioritizing Joy Is a Power Move

What if you made joy part of your career strategy? What if reclaiming the things that make you feel alive was part of designing your career?

As Howard Thurman said:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

It’s not about abandoning ambition. It’s about expanding your definition of success to include joy and aliveness.

When Fear Runs the Show

Here’s the tricky part: many of us make career decisions through the lens of fear, often without realizing it.

• Fear of disappointing others.
• Fear of financial insecurity.
• Fear of making the “wrong” choice.
• Fear of what others might think.

As a coach, I’ve worked with women on the cusp of partnership—smart, driven, highly capable—yet conflicted about whether partnership is the best path for them. Many are parents of young kids, wondering if the role they’ve worked so hard to achieve will allow them to live the life they now want.

They’re often experiencing one or more of the fears listed above. And fear can drown out the subtle voice of our intuition and make it hard to know which choice is right for us.

From Fear to Freedom

One client, an experienced litigator with consistently high performance reviews, found herself paralyzed at the idea of becoming partner.

Why? Because underneath her substantial achievements lived a fear: What if I become partner and make a mistake? What if an associate or paralegal makes a mistake and I miss it?

She wasn’t afraid of not being able to handle the demands of the job—she works extremely hard and has a greater workload capacity than most—she was afraid of not being able to do it perfectly. Of disappointing clients and facing overly critical feedback.

As we explored this, she uncovered a perfectionist part of her that formed in childhood to keep her emotionally safe. As a sensitive child, when she made even a small mistake, she faced harsh criticism. The pain of this childhood experience caused a part of her to take on a perfectionist role to ensure she never again faced such criticism.

When she understood how this perfectionist part formed and what role it played in keeping her safe, she felt self-compassion.

She realized that as a highly competent lawyer in her mid-30s, it’s now safe to make a mistake. Not to be careless–which she never is–but to do her best and let go of the rest.

To replace seeking perfection at all costs with a balanced approach, doing her best while giving herself grace and the opportunity to learn when she makes a mistake.

This is the kind of inner work that liberates us to make career choices from an empowered place of clarity.

What About You?

• What’s something that gives you joy that maybe you’ve been denying yourself in the name of “productivity”?
• What would it look like to allow what makes you feel alive to guide your career choices?
• What fear might be steering your career in a direction that no longer fits?