In a recent episode of Returning to Soul, I had the pleasure of speaking with Courtney Schulnick — a former litigator of 20 years turned mindfulness educator and corporate wellness consultant.
Courtney went to law school because it offered something she wanted at the time: a clear path. A predictable track. A sense that if you do X, Y, and Z, you’ll get this, that, and the other.
Sound familiar? I chose law for similar reasons. Predictable paths feel safe.
She had other interests — photography, art, teaching — but she “shoulded” herself into law. I’ll make good money. It’s a predictable path to success. She pushed those other parts of herself to the back burner for a time.
“I kept boxing myself up as, this is what I committed to, and I should be able to do it.”
Twenty years. High-profile cases. Financial success. She even enjoyed aspects of practicing law. But there was more happening beneath the surface.
spacer
The Moment Everything Changed
Courtney’s therapist suggested she try the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program — an eight-week course designed to deepen present-moment awareness and help manage stress.
She wasn’t trying to leave law. She just wanted to feel better.
What she found was clarity. About three weeks in, she started to notice how she was perceiving the stressors in her life — and how often she was getting in her own way. She began to recognize the pieces of her work that actually were aligned with her values.
She went on to do some of her finest work as a litigator in the following decade after taking that program. The tools she learned — nervous system regulation, non-judgment, present-moment awareness — made her better.
“I found that carving out that time to take better care of myself wasn’t something that was selfish. It made me a better attorney, a better mom, a better wife.”
spacer
The Art of Non-Doing
One of the things Courtney’s mindfulness teacher told her early on was to practice the art of non-doing. As a litigator who billed every moment of her time, this felt almost offensive.
Non-doing? That’s just time wasted.
But she came to understand something counterintuitive: the space we resist creating is often what we need most. When we allow ourselves to stop — to just be — we restore our energy. We reconnect with our true self. We create the conditions for clarity to emerge.
For lawyers who spend so much time in the head, Courtney suggests starting with the body. The body is always in the present moment, even when the mind is time-traveling to next month’s trial or last week’s regret.
Feel the chair beneath you. Feel the ground supporting your feet. Notice where you’re holding tension. Invite your muscles to soften.
Even two or three minutes of this, sprinkled throughout your day, can begin to shift something.
spacer
What Mindfulness Does for Career Alignment
Mindfulness doesn’t tell you what to do. It helps you see clearly enough to figure it out for yourself.
When we’re on autopilot — pushing through work, meetings, family commitments, back to work — we can’t hear the quiet signals that something needs to shift. We often ignore the emotional and physical messages our bodies are sending us. We stay busy rather than pausing to explore the internal discomfort.
Mindfulness creates a pause. And in that pause, you start to notice things.
You notice how you feel when you’re doing different kinds of work. You notice when you’re energized versus drained. You notice the stories you’re telling yourself about what you should do, who you should be — and you start to question them.
“The more you can let go and let be, you just get clearer about what it is that you want, what really is most meaningful to you.”
spacer
A Question Worth Sitting With
Courtney and I talked about the research on the top regrets of the dying. According to hospice aide and author Bronnie Ware, the number one regret is this: “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
You don’t have to wait until the end of your life to ask the hard questions. You can ask them now.
What would a life true to yourself look like? What would it feel like?
When you’re doing your work, does it feel like constant pushing? Or do you experience a kind of flow — a natural pull toward the work itself? Not the title. Not the paycheck. The actual work. The way you spend most of your waking hours.
That noticing is the beginning.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Steve Jobs
spacer
If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to listen to the full conversation with Courtney on Returning to Soul. We go deeper into how mindfulness supports career alignment, how to start a simple practice even in the busiest season of your life, and what it looks like to slowly, compassionately peel back the layers and get closer to who you really are.
Listen to Returning to Soul on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
You can also find Courtney at CourtneySchulnickMindfulness.com, where she offers free guided meditations and resources, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
If this resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. And if you’re ready to explore what true alignment looks like in your own career, download my free Career Alignment Map.
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
add a comment