Failure is not the opposite of success

If you are a graduate or newly admitted lawyer, especially if you are entering the professional workforce for the first time it is likely that over the next few years you will often feel out of your depth or even that you are a failure. The good news that these feelings are perfectly normal. So relax, get used to those feelings, and embrace them because "failure":

• is normal 
•  teaches us what not to do
• shows us  how we might do better next time

Michael Jordan, surely the greatest professional basketballer of all time has said:-

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career, I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed".

If you have ever trained a dog you have observed it "failing" many times before eventually becoming  obedient to commands. It is through "failure" that the dog  learns what not to do, and then, what it must do for success. Every failure adds to the dog's bank of knowledge which it then uses to modify its behaviour thereby ensuring success.

As a teacher and assessor of graduate lawyers I have witnessed  the distress of  students who "failed" an assessment task. Invariably, the student would tell me they had never failed anything before.
Of course what they meant was that they had never before failed a formal academic assessment. I'm sure this was the case. The students all law graduates, were very capable  had studied hard, and been taught well.

But realise that these students had spent a whole lifetime acquiring the knowledge and learning the skills necessary to achieve high grades. First in primary school, then high school and most recently law school. From the most basic skills such as  reading  and writing, through to  higher order critical thinking skills. They had  learned to write essays and  answer exam questions. They had practiced  over and over. They had received constructive criticism and feedback from their teachers so that by the time they were required to complete an assessment task such as a exam  they had experienced "failure" many times and modified their behaviour for success in much the same way as a dog modifies its behaviour as it becomes trained.

Uaually the assessment tasks, the failure of which caused distress, had required the student to demonstrate a skill which they were only just beginning to acquire and develop. Tasks such as drafting a pleading, preparing and conducting a cross examination, or delivering a plea in mitigation for a criminal client on a plea of guilty.

The "failure" was entirely understandable and even expected, and the good news is, that following costructive feedback and individual coaching the students were always able to pass a failed assessment before the end of the course.

The take home lessons for these students and for anyone else used to being and feeling very capable but who find themselves having to undertake unfamiliar tasks is be easy on yourself. You are not perfect, you do not know how to do everything you will be asked to do in practice (no one does),so admit your ignorance, ask for guidance and do not be discouraged if it takes you a few times to get something perfectly right.

If you don't believe me think of a skill which you have tried to learn recently, knitting, sewing, cooking, kite surfing, driving, whatever. Were you immediatley an expert or did you improve slowly but surely as you tried and tried again?  Every skill you have acquired in your life so far has taken time to develop (that's why its called a skill). Learning to talk, walk, read, write, ride a bike, make friends, and so on, all took time and many a "failure" before you became proficient. Acquiring the skills required to be a proficient lawyer is no different.

Tips for learning from "failure"

• acknowledge to yourself what you did wrong (or not so well)
• formulate some thoughts about how you would do the task better next time
• talk about your experiences with others. They may have some useful ideas and if you talk to someone who has recently been in your situation they are likely to confirm that they too made mistakes
• acknowledge and enjoy your successes (for there will be many).