Why Change Is So Difficult

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Why Change is so Difficult Over the many years I have mentored, taught and coached young lawyers. I have often wondered why it is so difficult to change and why young lawyers get discouraged so quickly when their client development efforts do not produce immediate results. Over the last several years scientists have been studying how our brain affects our ability to make changes. Knowing that none of you have any time to study this, I thought I might give you a short lesson. Do you remember when you were learning to drive. I bet you put a death grip on the wheel, paid way more attention to what you were doing, and if you were on a two lane road driving with your dad, he was scared to death you were going to plow down a row of mail boxes. Now, when you get into a car you do not even think about technique. You just do it. What has happened? When you are learning something for the first time you are using your short term memory part of your brain. It requires way more energy and is able to hold way fewer ideas. Also, just trying to change what we are doing sends out a strong message that something isn’t right and brings on anxiety and stress. Ok, so now you may understand why change is difficult and why you may easily get discouraged. What can you do about it? Learn client development in bite sized pieces and implement what you are learning until it becomes part of your habits. Your goal should be to get client development from your short term memory to the hard wired part of your brain. How can you accomplish this? Begin by knowing clearly what you want to accomplish and why accomplishing it is important to you. When you know the “what” and the “why,” the how will come to you in unique ways. Try this yourself. You will likely find creativity you have not experienced before.     I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.