At the Happy Lawyer, Happy Life Retreat at the end of 2018, Ann-Maree David encouraged attendees to try to consider what might be our “life’s work” – our purpose. If we could work out our purpose then we’d be able to integrate all the seemingly competing components of our lives. Gone would be the days of trying to figure out “work-life balance”.
Ann-Maree’s task for us was to “Uncover your superpower. Unlock your potential. “
I quite liked the idea of having a unique superpower, but I had no idea how to work out what it was. As I reflected, I begun to notice a common theme. Ideas around “finding the path”, “getting from A to B” and “seeing the solution” kept coming up. People tell me that I am good at sorting through “noise” to find a solution. Where I see an obvious path, others often see a maze.
This superpower has manifested itself in a few areas of life. After a particularly traumatic night that resulted in a trip to A&E, my mum thanked me for being the only family member who could “sort everyone out and know what to do and when to do it.” But perhaps most excitingly, in my work as a lawyer I have designed comprehensive processes, templates and procedures that have completely transformed the way we practise law.
The next part is to work out what to do with this magic. Apparently the superpower only works if I know the destination. Luckily Ann-Maree gave us some tools for this too in the form of a Japanese concept known as “Ikigai”, so therein lies my next task: what to do with my superpower!?
