Have you seen the signs in various neighborhoods that advise, “Drive like your kids live here?” These signs want you to slow down and be more attentive and careful. So much hardship and disappointment could be avoided if people followed that advice in every aspect of life. Every week attorneys meet with people who wish they had been more contemplative and consulted with advisors before choosing a course of action. Inaction is a choice people make assuming they don’t have to make a choice.
Slowing down allows you to avoid the emotions of the moment that can interfere with good decision making. Slowing down can frustrate the schemes of those who try to defraud you by pushing you to immediate action. Slowing down helps you gain perspective and avoid some dangerous blind spots that are not apparent in the heat of the moment. “Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry,” has been good advice since it was written many centuries ago.
After 30 plus years of practice, I am convinced that slowing down is one of the best strategies a lawyer can employ. People listen better, ask better questions, and allow time for clarity when they take a deep breath. As the holiday season approaches with the inevitably frantic year-end activities, take some time to think before you act.
Procrastinators may take this message as an affirmation and suffer the consequences of their inactivity. On the other hand, if you seek wise counsel, Bailey & Galyen looks forward to helping you!
