Are you finding it difficult to carve out time to study?
Does it seem like every time you plan to study, something else comes up and steals that time away?
Do you keep telling yourself, "I'll do it next February," or "I'll take the bar next July," but that time never seems to come?
If you find yourself chronically postponing your bar exam or pushing off your studying until you have no choice but to withdraw, you'll probably want to read to the end.
It will help you understand what's happening and how you can get relief from this feeling of not finishing what you started and not keeping your promises to yourself. These two things can deal a significant blow to your self-esteem, shrinking what you allow yourself to accomplish and receive in your law career and life in general.
Why Do We Procrastinate?
When it comes to chronically postponing the bar exam or constantly saying, "I'll take it next July," but not actually taking the necessary steps to be ready, what's happening here? Let's start with a simple principle: where your time and money go, that's where your priorities lie.
Are you breaking promises to yourself by continuously postponing? Imagine the frustration of someone who always promises but never delivers. How long would it take for you to stop trusting that person? Are you doing that to yourself?
Do the following exercise to discover why you may be procrastinating. With this discovery you’ll also see how to fix it and get proactive about passing the bar this time (if that’s what you want).
Exercise:
Look at your bank statement for the last 30 days. What have you been predominantly spending money on?
Are they things for your children? That means they are your priority.
Are they leisure activities like dining out, entertainment, or travel? That means leisure is your priority.
Are they relationship-focused, such as counseling, books, or courses? Then relationships are your priority.
Are they personal growth-related, like courses or books? Your personal growth is your priority.
Are they charitable donations? Philanthropy is your priority.
Are they health-related, like gym memberships or healthy food? Physical health is your priority.
You can easily look at your finances and see where the bulk of your money is going to determine your priorities.
Now do the same with your time. Where do you spend most of your free time? Relationships? Entertainment? Personal growth? Intellectual or spiritual pursuits? Look at all the different areas of your life and see where your time and money are going.
When to Postpone and When Not To
After this self-assessment, take a hard look at the bar exam and see where it falls on the spectrum for you. How much of your time and money is going towards it? If you find that it ranks low compared to other areas, there's nothing wrong with that. The problem comes when we keep telling ourselves that the bar exam is a priority but our actions don’t align with that intent. Just accept what is, or make a conscious decision to change it.
Your Choices
If you find yourself in this position, you have one of two choices:
Make an Action Plan:
Create a plan with micro-steps that build up to major steps, leading you to finally sit for the bar exam.
2. Table It:
Decide to table the bar exam for now. Walking around with the bar exam as a cloud over your head is detrimental. It takes away from your actual priorities and builds resentment and low self-worth.
If you decide to table it, set a specific time to revisit the decision, say in two years, and live your best life until then. When the time comes, reassess your priorities.
The Long Path vs. The Short Path
If you take a break and live your best life, you'll come back to the bar exam as a more confident, renewed individual. This is the long path to gaining motivation and energy for the bar exam. The short path involves working with me. Most of my private clients feel unblocked and renewed after just a few sessions. They say they have so much energy available to them now, and they can channel that into the bar exam if they choose.
Next Steps
The end result is up to you. Whether you follow through with the bar exam now or later, I believe in you. Follow the steps to come to a place of ease about your decision. If you need an action plan to get off the ground, even if you've been procrastinating for years, Click here.
If you don't want to spend any more time in this loop and know you can do it with a little help, check out Confidence Kickstart Call. We’ll create a plan to get you past your personal mindset hurdles and beyond the bar.