The Law School Mental Game: Slay Your Self-Doubt Dragons

Today we welcome our friend Lauren Fire of Mind Over Bar, an expert on the mental aspects of exam prep, who will be helping you get mentally prepared for law school exams. Without further ado…

Many people worry that they won’t be able to bring out the best in themselves on test day.

Self-doubt and other negative thoughts can skew confidence.

But let me tell you a little secret, confidence isn’t going to show up at your door one day wearing a banana suit and say — here I am! You have to generate confidence for yourself by strategically working around your negative thoughts and re-discovering your greatness.

Deep inside of you, you know that you have a well of potential greatness.

Sometimes re-occurring negative thoughts and emotions can cause us to bury that greatness.

If you are fighting with self-doubt or other disempowering thoughts, you may have even forgotten that greatness exists. But it’s still there — it always has been.

The first step to slaying your self-doubt dragons is simple – summon your greatness.

This may sounds simple or self-helpy, but it works. Ask yourself, “If I were truly living into my greatness, what would I do right now?” Find your power again, summon it.

Don’t let those disempowering thoughts win. Remember that thoughts  aren’t real, so why believe them?

If you continue to be plagued by self-doubt, isolate the negative statement and then create an equally positive one for yourself.

For example, if the negative thought is “I’m not smart enough for this,” or “I can’t do this,” the equally positive statement might be something like “I own this test, I own this school!”

Yes, the positive statement is silly, but you know what — so is the negative one! They are equally silly because neither of them is based in reality.

So why are you believing and focusing on the negative one?

And last but not least, come up with a mantra for yourself.

I cannot stress this enough, a mantra is such a great tool on test day. Think of a statement that makes you feel calm and empowered.

• My mantra in law school and on the bar exam was: “I can do this, I just need to eat the elephant one bite at a time.”

Think of something like that, and write it somewhere you will look at it every day, like on your mirror or computer background.

Next Up: The Law School Mental Game: Create Plans of Action

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Lauren Fire is the founder of the Mind Over Bar Course an innovative course that supplements bar study by teaching students how to tackle the mental challenges of the bar exam. The course teaches in-the-moment practices that students can use to combat stress, overwhelm, panic, and test anxiety. Lauren also offers private coaching to law students and bar exam takers.

Did you find this article helpful? Leave your feedback and questions in the comments and check out the rest of the series:

• The Law School Mental Game: Performing Under Pressure
• The Law School Mental Game: Create Plans of Action

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