Doing your best has to be good enough

Not surprisingly, studying and taking law school exams produces a great deal of stress. For many, this stress is rooted in the fact that students tend to emphasize external measures of success when appraising their academic performance. When we measure ourselves based on factors over which we have little if any control, stress and even depression can result. As I note in my book, Succeeding in Law School, there is another way.

Students can deal with stress rooted in grades by channeling it into a more effective form of competition. For example, many students want to be in the top 10% of their class. The need to achieve this goal is often perpetuated, both explicitly and implicitly, by faculty, administrators, and placement offices. If every law student “needs” to be in the top 10% of the class, then 90% of them are doomed to failure by their own standards. Instead of striving for a particular spot in the academic pecking order, students should attempt to achieve their personal best.

Asking the best from oneself is no small task. It requires that you do everything within your power to succeed. Consider this for a moment. How often in your life have you done everything possible to succeed? Keep in mind that your personal best may not translate into “A’s” or even “B’s” on your examinations. However, by definition your personal best means that you had nothing left to give. Anyone whose grades represent their best work [should] be satisfied.