“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.” -Zig Ziglar

Regret is a powerful emotion that, if not resolved, can destroy our happiness and limit our success.

See, that is the problem with expectations. They can remove the joy out of our life and create disappointment and frustration.

Do you ever find that you fret over your past mistakes? Or, are very worried about making new mistakes? Are you ever extremely concerned about high expectations of your family or your colleagues?

Do you ever do this? You see someone who is really proficient, better than you, at something you want to achieve; and you begin comparing yourself to them.We want to be better in our profession, so it makes sense to compare ourselves to those who are the best, doesn’t it? How does that work out for you?

I did a poll recently about fears and how they affect us attorneys. Despite our confidence, many of us struggle with internal fears. Overwhelmingly, the most challenging and frequent fear is that of failure.

Have you ever been asked to do something for someone, said yes, and then resented that you had to do it? Has someone ever complained to you about something, and you said "I'm sorry," when you did not actually think you did anything wrong?

Mistakes happen, right? Deadlines get missed, papers get filed wrong, an important call is not returned. Those can of course be problems, but the bigger problem is how we respond to it. Do we play the blame game? Or do we take productive steps to understand what happened and to correct it?

The dictionary defines resentment as a "bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly." Some have called it "victim anger."

The problem is that our fear can often be unknown and very powerful. We sometimes succumb to it without even knowing. How you respond to fear is precisely what differentiates you from all the others, and sets you on your path to success.