For the times when you think you failed.

Law school is tough. For those of you interested in law school, I’m sure this is not the first time you have heard it. But you will not fully understand and appreciate just exactly how hard law school is until you are in it. You wont understand it until you are sitting in your exam where all the work you’ve done for past 4 months now all comes down to the one exam that is 4 hours long. The pressure is very real and no matter how much you prepared, you will still feel the nerves (but of course there are those who can keep their cool).

Today I had my first final exam and I think I failed. Now of course, thats what everyone says in a dramatic fashion as they exit their exam. But I have something to say to those who think they failed… the key word is “think”. Thinking you failed and actually failing are two very different things but share a common effect.

If you think you failed, you will be more likely to fail.

It is so easy to think you failed. To your surprise, I am not a perfect human being. I am very guilty of thinking I failed. As a matter of fact, I do it all the time. I have been fortunate enough to have my moments of success, but I have also had my setbacks. In the “finals week” setting in law school, thinking you failed can ruin your mindset for the following weeks in your next exams. But remember that just like I am not a perfect human being, neither are you.

Give yourself a moment to cry, vent out, yell, and let out all the negativity that has built up inside of you. But then a time comes where you have to flip a switch and move forward. You cannot think you failed. You have to move on thinking that you will be successful. A lot of law school is a mental game with yourself. The days can be grueling and you have to push yourself mentally in a way you have never needed to before.

At school one day we had someone talk to us about how to win in the court room. He talked for about a hour and most of it was useful information. But the one thing he said that has stuck with me is,

“Own the room.”

When you walk into a test, a speaking event or a meeting, you have to own the room. Those three words speak of confidence in yourself. It represents the fact that you have put forth the effort and work necessary. After all the hours you spent in preparation, you walk into the exam room, auditorium, conference room and you own the room. When taking an exam, you remind yourself that you know what is needed to be successful on the exam. Even when you come across a question you are not sure of, you give yourself a second,use your knowledge and think it through. The speaker emphasized that even if you are wrong, you still have to give it all you have and show confidence in what you do. When you are confident in what you do, it will show in your writing, in your physical presence and in your voice. The person grading your exam, people in the audience watching you, or your listeners will feel the confidence in your work. Your audience, whoever it may be, will know that you are there for a good reason and that you worked hard to be where you are today.

My point here is, when you think you failed… stop. Own the room, own the exam, own the meeting, and show the world that you deserve to be where you are.