Resources For The Happy Lawyer Audiobook
If you’ve made it here, it’s because you’ve been listening to The Happy Lawyer Audiobook and you’ve thought to yourself, man I wish I could see all the visuals that are in the book. You’ve come to the right place. Enjoy! 😊
Part One
Chapter 2:
In Chapter 2, we start discussing the Quadrants of Life, using Frank as an example. This is what his chart looks like after it’s been populated but before we discuss and use the Super Official Happiness Calculator:
Notice the vertical axis distinguishes the different type of impact that each factor has on Frank. Some factors are minor (e.g. stress is a factor but not that big a deal to Frank, and his health (while important) only moves the needles so much), whereas some factors are material (e.g. the relationships in his life are extremely important).
Afterwards, we introduce the Super Official Happiness Calculator:
An aggregate score of positive 3! The Super Official Happiness Calculator shows that his cup is (overall) currently filling.
Except then we need to introduce the concept of the second arrow (I recommend listening to the book and tracking the visuals before reading ahead). Once we take into account Frank’s second arrow, his chart looks like this:
An aggregate score of negative 3! 🤔 Even though there are lots of good, great, and outstanding things in his life, his cup is still draining.
Luckily, the chart shows Frank a pathway to changing it. If he can just wrangle those internal negative factors into having less of an impact on his life, it could make a material difference.
What does your chart look like? Where would your chart show your opportunities? Feel free to print this image and fill out your own chart:
Chapter 3: Consequences, Consequences, Consequences
What are the consequences of a draining cup? It’s not all or nothing. The consequences ease in as the cup drains further. This is sort of how I imagine my cup:
The cup fills with all the factors that would show up in my positive quadrants, and it drains with all the factors that would show up in my negative quadrants. As it continues to drain, there are more and more things that I no longer have the resources to handle.
PS. Now that you’re going to start hearing about Legal Beagle and Professional Possum, are you at all curious what they look like?
Interlude: Taking STock
Just a fun little snapshot of what my journal looked like as I made the first iteration of my list of patterns among happy lawyers and miserable lawyers. If I’d known it was going to be such a big deal, I would have at least used a new page.
Part Two: Get In The Cycle
Chapter 4: It All Starts With Self-Awareness
I find mental maps very helpful, so I’ve included a map that grows as we discuss further elements of the model. Think of it as a visual aid to remembering what it is that you’re hearing.
Chapter 6: Taking Intentional Action
It ends up becoming a gosh-darn cycle!
This is what it looks like all put together:
Part Three: The Foundation of Happiness
Chapter 7: We Are All Community Made
Here’s the mental map as it’s grown with this chapter’s contributions:
Chapter 8: No One Else Can Be Self-Compassionate For You
Here’s a detailed look at a map of self-compassion:
And again here is the overall model with self-compassion included now:
Part Four: The Focus of the Good Life
Chapter 9: Our Health Matters
Here’s the mental map as it’s grown with this chapter’s contributions:
Chapter 10: Getting Into Alignment
In the Happy Lawyer Model, “Alignment” means a life where what you want is aligned with who you are which is aligned with the life you actually have. Or, another way of looking at it is the centre of this venn diagram:
And again here is the overall model with alignment included now:
Chapter 11: The Pursuit of Excellence
Now that it’s got Excellence in it, the Happy Lawyer Model is complete:
Part Five: Implementation & Practicality
Chapter 13: Needle Moving Moves
When we think about whether to improve our reality or improve our perspective, I think we’re missing the point. That is, it’s not about trying to improve what we have, nor is it about trying to be grateful for what we have, it’s about doing both:
What Next?
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