I was the managing partner of a law firm for a while. At that time I saw myself as being something like Cassandra, who the Gods punished by giving her the ability to foresee the future while dooming her to never be believed. I used to try my best to convince my partners to see things my way. After all, I knew how things were going to turn out if they did not listen to me. Not only did some of them not listen, but they actively tried to subvert the things that I was doing for their benefit.
In those days, many people vexed me. I resented them. Of resentment, St. Augustine is reported to have said that “resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die,” but at the time I did not know that. (While I may not have wanted them to actually die, I would have been fine if they had quit and gone on to plague some other firm.)
Some of you may recall a song by The Byrds which includes the following Bible-inspired lyrics: “To everything there is a season…. a time for love, a time for hate, a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.”
Things that seemed important to me when I was younger no longer seem as important. How much my professional career fed my ego; who appreciated the support that I had given to them, and who turned on me when they no longer needed me; how high up the compensation totem pole I had risen; who had wronged me, and how I would exact revenge.
I am now getting to the age where my next vehicle could well be the last one that I purchase and I no longer see the point in extended warranties. I realize that winter is coming, the poison is beginning to disagree with me, and the people who wronged me are still doing just fine. As a result, I have a few revelations which I will be good enough to share with you.
First, I have learned that sometimes you have to let people figure things out on their own, no matter how stupid they are and how inefficient that process may be. I have also learned not to care whether everyone knows that I am right. Most importantly, I now understand that my most important goals are to protect my health and strive to have peace in my life.
If in the future I were to commit a horrendous crime and be sentenced to being the managing partner of a law firm again, I would try to keep these revelations in mind.
This article was originally published by Law360 Canada, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.