A couple of days ago I arrived home from work and was entering my house. I went through the door as I have a thousand times, but this time when I went to shut it something was wrong. The bottom hinge had come undone. I have an old house and the door is very worn. The I tried to re-screw the hinge back into the door-jam, but it was completely stripped out. I messed around with it for about an hour and finally rigged something temporary until I can get another door. By the way, it was raining the entire time, the kids were hungry and arguing, and it was a long day at work.

While it is not every day that my door falls off the hinges, every day brings its own set of trials and stresses. The key is not to come unhinged when things go “wrong”. Studying for law school is a challenge in itself. But when you attempt it with a mind cluttered with the stresses of daily life then you are in an up-hill battle which will probably be lost. I got the door rigged, mopped up some water, the kids got fed and calmed down and finally went to bed. I was still alive and it wasn’t really that bad.

A key factor to success in law school is being able to prioritize and focus. Focus on the good things about your life and down-play the “bad”. This does not mean forget about responsibilities; it just means take everything in stride and relax, especially about things over which you may have no control. Before you sit down to study take a brief walk to clear your head. Breathe deep. Listen to some soothing music. Do whatever it is that will calm you down and clear your head so you can focus on the task at hand. Life will be a lot better and your law school experience will be greatly enhanced if you do. God Bless and have a great day.