[MCLE Self-Assessment Test]

MCLE Self-Assessment Test

July 1998

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This article is provided solely for research and archival purposes. MCLE self-study credit is no longer available. Even if you follow the instructions and submit payment you will not be granted MCLE self-study credit. Please note that low-cost MCLE is provided by the California Lawyers Association, pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 6056.


Answer the following questions after reading the MCLE article on "Stress and Your Practice." Use the answer form provided to send the test, along with a $20 processing fee, to the State Bar. Please allow at least eight weeks for MCLE certificates to reach you in the mail.


1. Meditation can calm the mind, allowing it to focus on our conduct and actions.

2. Concentration can be highly focused, stable and relaxing.

3. Meditation may be fine for some, but it is luxury and too time-consuming for most people.

4. Inner balance is a dynamic process that requires constant vigilance.

5. Most research indicates it takes at least two years to establish a new habit or overcome an old one.

6. We really have no choice when it comes to dealing with stress. It's better just to drift along and let fate take over.

7. Physical reactions to stress include a sudden urge to tap dance.

8. The quickest way to react to warning signs of stress is to re-establish a comfortably erect posture and breathe fully.

9. Short and simple breath exercises allow us to become refreshed and calm our minds.

10. Stress robs us of our ability to focus on the present moment.

11. The body and mind both become exhausted when attention and concentration are divided.

12. When trying to maintain concentration, Daizui MacPhillamy recommends that it is best to jerk a wandering mind back to reality.

13. If your mind wanders over and over, perhaps it is trying to tell you something important.

14. Meditation is a more sustained way of replenishing our depleted inner resources, developing insight and reconnecting with our true selves.

15. Doing the "10 Breaths Practice" every hour, on the hour, is one way to keep stress under control without medication.

16. Stress has the uncanny ability to make us feel overwhelmed, inadequate and victimized.

17. The real problem with stress is external factors, not how we respond to them.

18. By integrating a number of basic practices into our work schedule and using them every day, we can set a process in motion that builds on itself.

19. Sometimes it helps to jot down a phrase or sentence and place it in a prominent postion to remind us our stress-less intentions.

20. Lawyers who make a commitment to explore their reactions to stressful circumstances and ways to enhance their performance, will find a fuller, more complete and rewarding way of practicing law.


Certification
This activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1 hour, of which 1 hour will apply to Law Practice Management..

The State Bar of California certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum continuing legal education.

[CALBAR JOURNAL]