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WHEN it comes to finding happiness in the legal profession, Brisbane Family Law Centre director Clarissa Rayward is among the top authorities.
Often required to deal with unpleasant situations and hard life scenarios as a family lawyer, Rayward has spent years unlocking the secrets to staying happy amid the daily turmoil that comes with the profession.
In her new book Happy Lawyer, Happy Life, Rayward aims to give other lawyers and professionals like herself the tools to make the best out of their careers and lives.
These days Rayward is otherwise known as 'the happy family lawyer', however there was a time when she wasn't so cheery.
Rayward was struggling to focus on work, finding that the simplest tasks were becoming tedious, and as a result her personal life suffered.
"There have been many moments in my career when I have considered throwing in the towel, those times in life when I have felt I have given everything to my job and my career to the detriment of myself," says Rayward.
"I was distracted in my marriage, feeling disconnected from my daughter and finding my friendships becoming harder to enjoy.
"But when it comes to being unhappy in your chosen profession, you can't blame work so easily. We put too much pressure on our jobs, onour employees and on our work relationships to make us happy, when really, that's up to us."
Once she realised her situation boiled down to a point of view, Rayward started training herself to see the world in a different light.
She developed five essential keys that have become the cornerstones of her advice on being content.
These are keeping a positive attitude, a burning passion, a defining purpose, a sense of self and also maintaining good health.
She believes the easiest place where people can start changing their mindset is to be grateful for what they have.
"I think the simplest practice that can create change is gratitude practice," says Rayward.
"It's taking the time out of each day to say what you're grateful for, going through the mindful process of saying 'what where the good things that happened today?'."
Rayward says it's also important to tie in their own personal passions to work, whether that's expressing a flair for interior design in the office, readingon the commute to work or taking walks on lunch breaks.
"Your passions are often the first things that go when you have a job, get married and have kids," says Rayward.
"If you go back and mindfully identify the things you just love doing, it becomes easier to work them back into your day."
To pick up a copy of Happy Lawyer, Happy Life, you can visit the Brisbane Family Law Centre website here.
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