Setira didn’t know what she didn’t know while studying for the Bar. She spread herself thin, forcing herself to listen to lectures 5 hours a day even when, a lot of the time, her mind was wandering. Then when she went to answer practice questions she got most of them wrong, beat herself up, and went back at it again overworking  …

This is Part Two of an article originally published on LinkedIn. You can find Part One here.

What’s the single biggest problem that crops up for a Bar Exam taker after she’s carved out study space and time for herself?

The repeat Bar Exam takers that I’ve seen finally pass the Bar, did so by taking a series of bold, decisive actions.  These actions essentially amounted to “ghosting” their families in the weeks leading up to the Exam.  

She knew all the actions and processes she had to take to build her successful law practice but she was unaware of the mindset piece. 

Money Shame. Everyone encounters it at some point...some live in it continuously.

I understand that may apply to your federal loans.

And so the conversation goes with the distraught graduate whose post graduation deferment has ended but who hasn’t yet found a job.

Getting to sleep before the Bar Exam or any major life event is crucial. It’ll be helpful to know the reasons you’re still awake so you can put them to bed (pun intended) and get some sleep.

Ego is a perfectly normal and necessary function designed to keep you alive in your human body. It is like an artificial intelligence (AI) system that will make you do or not do the things (it thinks are) necessary for your survival, even if it goes against your stated goals and desires. Our work in exploring the Fears is to detect when this AI system is at work and consciously override it so we can make it to our goals.

As we journey to passing the Bar some of us face demands on our time and resources from the people we hoped would support us.  

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One of the four fears that control us and block us from achieving our goals is the  fear of the loss of love. (The three other fears will be discussed in future articles). 

California Bar Exam Takers were devastated by the poorest Bar Exam results ever in recent years. An article in a popular online law journal was published in response.