The 3 Things I told My Stressed Out Bar Exam Friend

Hey everyone,

Today I want to share with you a conversation I had with my friend who is taking the bar exam.  He called me up in need of a pep talk.  With 24 days to go to the bar exam, here is what he told with me:

• I am way too behind to be ready for this exam.
• I screwed around too long up to this point, and it’s my own fault.
• This is basically going to be a preparation for the July bar instead.

I responded with 3 statements:

1) You are not the only one.

I told him I understood exactly where he is coming from.  I was there and thousands of others are there right now.  My message to you is, “You are NOT the only one!”  Most people, if not all, are ‘feeling’ it right now.  The doubt is there.  The fear is there. The overwhelm is there. The lack of guidance and direction is there.

Don’t make the mistake in thinking you are the only one who feels this way.  Just go on to the all4jds.com forum.  You’ll see people who feel it way worse than you do.

At this stage, it is natural to think we are ‘behind’ everyone else.  By this time, you are probably way behind on your homework.  This is Phase 3 you are entering, and is one of the toughest phases mentally for the bar exam.

It’s just part of the bar exam game.  It’s a part of the experience.  The key is to know you are not alone.

2) Focus in your bar exam practice.

I asked my friend what he was studying on a daily basis. How many Evidence essays had he done up to this point? How many MBE’s?

He told me had done two essays for Evidence.  I asked him, “If you saw those essays again right now, could you go back and answer them correctly?”  He told me he could not.

Then, go back and do those two essays and get them down so well you could do them if you saw them again.  If you spend too much time learning the law (which he was), you are going to regret it when you show up and realize you only have to write essays, not know the law.  You do need to know some law to write essays, but you can learn that as you write the essays.

3) Don’t give up Physically. Don’t give in Mentally.

Some people actually quit during this time.  They allow the mental overwhelm to take them out, preventing them from giving themselves a chance.  Don’t do it. You don’t have it as bad as you think.  I’m telling you, you’d be surprised how low that threshold can be to pass compared to what you think it is and judging yourself by.

Mentally, it can be challenging. This is the point where I took a 4-day break.  Yes, 4 days in a row to recoup, refocus, and recover for the last home stretch.  If you need to, step away for a day or two.  Then come back and do lots of practice exams.

Don’t underestimate yourself. You have made it this far. The promise land is just over the horizon. Keep moving forward. You got this!

“This name appears on the pass list”

 

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