Editorial | Brad T. Bald
The Balance of the Ego: How Lawyers Can Maintain a Healthy Sense of Self It’s hard to really make the subject positively state / Some may hate it and some may overrate it / It’s a top story and you rarely see a trend / So all you psychoanalysts, pull out your pad and pen It’s called the ego. Ego, A Tribe Called Quest Simply put, the ego is our personal identity that consciously shapes decision making and our sense of importance. We’ve all experienced judgment of someone with a “big” or “unhealthy” ego – they express an overabundance of confidence and have an irrational belief in their own importance.1 Such judgment likely stems from self-esteem issues, or maybe we’ve been that person on an occasion (or two). Heaven forbid we do not receive the respect we think we deserve, so we begin to get defensive and voila, the oh so familiar “do you know who I am?!” monologue occurs. Egos have been plaguing the legal profession for decades. Since day one of law school, we’ve obsessed over productivity. We check emails at every stoplight and “bill-on-the-go” to constantly keep our mind busy. This self-created feeling that we need to be busy all the time convinces us that we must be doing something important because we are, after all, very important.2 We often measure life by events, defining our self- worth in achievements. We waste previous moments proving ourselves to people we don’t respect.3 As a result, our identity gets wrapped up in what others think of us, or more accu-
rately, what we think others think of us.4 Lawyers are trained to be good at thinking and analyzing issues. We hold onto past decisions, ruminate, and react defensively if our egos are threatened. As a result, we are left to dwell from life’s demands via unhealthy substances. If only there was a technique or practice that could help – queue meditation and mindfulness. Meditation and mindfulness techniques have been essential in defusing the unhealthy ego narrative and restoring a sense of tranquility in people’s minds for centuries. The essence of meditation is to detach from the analytical mind (which lawyers get buried in), but not avoid thoughts altogether. Meditation’s biggest misconception is that we are going to stop thinking and hinder all thoughts completely. The function of the mind is to produce thoughts. Similar to our hearts beating and our lungs breathing, our minds are constantly creating thoughts – a natural process that restarts on its own.5 One of the principal skills we build in the practice of meditation is the ability to observe thoughts as they are, without judgment.6 The Ego wants to control the narratives surrounding our life. We are primed to manipulate opposing counsel’s arguments and our own client’s opinions – a seemingly impossible task. Instead of wasting effort trying to change other people’s behaviors, we can redirect that energy toward moderating our own behavior.7 Meditation practices can push us into a more self-aware expression. During moments (continued on page 26)
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023-24 | NASHVILLE BAR JOURNAL
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