Endurance Lessons for Lawyers: When Lawyering Is Like Everesting – Part Three
The hardest part of any endurance event is not the beginning or the end. It’s the middle: You’re not fresh. You’re not close to done. Nothing feels urgent. That’s where people break. Not physically—mentally.
Litigation has the same phase. Discovery. Document review. Follow-up. No spotlight. No adrenaline. Just work.
There is a Zen Buddhist proverb popular with the endurance athletes I have met: “Chop wood. Carry water.” In other words, do the work. Repeat it. Don’t overthink it. It has been explained to me that this proverb reflects the power of routine. Greatness is built through consistent daily effort. Those efforts can ultimately yield grand moments. But virtue lies in the routine itself, not the grand result.
Most people don’t fail because they can’t or won’t do the work. They fail because they can’t stay engaged when the work feels ordinary. The middle is where details get missed, standards slip, and cases are quietly lost.
The middle doesn’t feel important…
That’s why it is.
Anyone can sprint.
Very few can sustain.
More to come.
