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There is comfort in predictability. This is one of the reasons we develop routines and habits. In fact, the more comforting our routine, the more painful it is to change it. To put it simply, deep down inside we often times would prefer the comfort of a bad habit to the uncertainty of a potentially positive change (that’s why it is so difficult to change habits – even bad habits). Despite the negative aspects of our routines, the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. This principle of resisting change contributes to the fact that the only reason we give in to change is when our status quo becomes too uncomfortable. Sometimes the motivating discomfort comes from within you (feeling bad about the status quo) and sometimes it comes from the environment (new jobs require learning new skills).

We continue our conversation with Lee Holland, Esq. about his journey through personal and professional crisis. (You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here).

LCL: In setting up your firm you focused on work you love, how did you go about identifying the work that you loved and wanted to focus on?

LH: I found my specialty as a FINRA advocate for consumers and reputable industry clientele largely by happenstance, but have always had a strong sense of enforcing fairness. Past legal representations had exposed me to many different areas of practice, and with those, many different types of clients with many different backgrounds. From my experience, I felt the strongest connection when working with individuals as clients, and the best of those interactions were largely 1-on-1 relationships. I became a FINRA arbitrator in 2005, and I quickly grew to respect the organization and its mission, while simultaneously becoming more active and interested in promoting effective financial regulation.

According to Merriam-Webster, one of the definitions of crisis is “an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; especially: one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome.”  We all face crises of one kind sometime in our lives. For Lee Holland, Esq., he faced multiple crises at one time. LCL Clinician, Dr. Shawn Healy, sat down with Lee to ask him about his crises and how he grew from them.

It can sound almost sacrilegious to say, but the goal to succeed all the time is actually a terrible idea. The only way to achieve anything meaningful in life involves experiencing failure along the way. On one hand, no one enjoys failing. It can be an uncomfortable experience that tests your character. One of the reasons why it is so uncomfortable is that we often think of failure as an inherently bad thing. If we see failure as inherently bad, then we have no choice but to feel bad when we experience it. On the other hand, failure is absolutely essential to growth; plain and simple. You cannot grow, progress, or get better at something unless you fail. The key is to think of failure as a helpful step, own your failures, and learn from them.