The Importance of Opportunities

In school, we always hear about taking opportunities but a lot of time there was never any explanation of what or where opportunities are found. Now in the second year of my first full-time job, I have found understanding opportunities is important to my growth as a young attorney. The dictionary defines opportunity as:

a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something

As a young attorney, my focus has been on 1) continuing to grow as a person; and 2) learning as much as I can about my job. The opportunities have helped in both of those focuses.

Work-Life Balance

I think before I really dive into some of the opportunities I have encountered, it is important to talk about balancing work and life. First, you will not be perfect in this. I think a fallacy is believing that we can have everything in our professional and personal life. Sometimes we may drop the ball and having grace is okay. My faith is important to me and I learned early in law school that God values hard work. Jesus was a hard worker with integrity but He also took time to rest and fellowship. (See Luke 21: 37-38 and Proverbs).

A few years ago, I listened to an Audible Original called The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Peterson. It was an interesting, but quick listen that talked to different people about experiencing burnout. The main lesson I got from that audiobook is there has to be a balance between hustle and rest. There are times in the last year and a half where a lot of my focus was on understanding the legal aspects of an area I am currently learning. While studying for the bar exam in 2018, there were times my family would not hear from me. However, I have learned some kind of balance. (See my article about The Importance of Getting Away). The point: understand there will be times of singular focus on something but take time for rest and fellowship.

Opportunities, Education and the Limits

My job has provided a lot of opportunities that make it possible for my career to advance the way I pray it does. However, I am cognizant that as an African-American woman I am in the minority, and the higher I move, the less diversity there will be. So for me, learning the percentages was important to keep my privilege in perspective. I am a part of a professional training program that has high expectations of our career path but the path will be a little harder.

How to Take Smart Notes points out that the educational system tries to link IQ with academic success, however, there is no correlation. The book goes on to point out that Niklas Luhmann was a lawyer who created his own path. He didn't follow the traditional route that law schools teach students (law school, an associate at a firm, and work up to partner), but he forged his own path based on the interests he had. Luckily law schools are doing a better job of presenting alternative routes to take. It's important to reimagine what the path can be. Explore the world and create your own path. President Obama talks about this on Michelle Obama's podcast. It's a great listen. Also, check out one of my law school classmates Kameron who is making her own lane and killing it. Follow her on Youtube and her website.

To be less abstract, while a lot of my opportunities have been provided by my job, I think everyone has opportunities available to them. Some of the opportunities are professional-education related. I've learned a lot about the history of the Air Force, the courses available to employees, and different trainings in legal areas I haven't personally encountered yet. I've also taken the time to get to know some of my coworkers. A couple of those people I know will be available to me as my career advances for advice and help. Telework has made it a little harder but take the time to get to know people. So I encourage you to pay attention to the emails that come to you and try to take part in those learning and networking experiences.

I've talked a lot about professional opportunities, but there are some personal opportunities I think we put off as we get older. School has made learning a chore unfortunately and we sometimes don't take the time to continue to learn outside of our job. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and others have made it easier to get lost in binge-watching tv shows and movies. However, I encourage you to pick up a few books a year. I read both fiction and nonfiction. They both have benefits. In an age where attention spans seem to be shorter, reading helps you focus, helps with creative thinking, and helps with self-evaluation. If you are unsure where to start, the best way is to read the source material of one of your favorite movies or show. That is how I got back into reading. You can also sign up here and I include the Top 10 Ways to Start Reading Again. If reading (physical book or audiobook) just is not an option for you, there are some great documentaries out there and Youtube has a plethora of videos on varied topics. The point is to take the time to learn something new.

Conclusion

Opportunities are only important if you know where you want to go and who you want to be. For me, I know I want to be the best friend and family member I can be. I want to be help people. Having a stack of books to read, both fiction and nonfiction, remind me that there is so much knowledge and ideas in the world that are impossible to get through. This keeps me grounded and open to learning from anyone. Which in turn allows me to offer grace and love to people I encounter. On the professional side, I know I want to one day be the GS-15 in the office helping grow and mentoring attorneys. Therefore, learning my job and how I fit into the structure is important. Sitting in on meetings, being attentive in training, and getting to know some of my coworkers are the opportunities available to me at the moment. Take some time and think about what opportunities are available to you that will help you become the person and professional you want to be.

If you need some book recommendations, check out my Goodreads or StoryGraph. And then follow me on Instagram and Twitter.