Member-only story

The Lawyer’s Well-Being Brief

The Tale of Two Lumberjacks: A Lesson on Well-Being

Marc W. Crayton
4 min readDec 20, 2024

“When someone does something wrong, don’t forget the things they did right.”-Unknown

Welcome back or welcome to the Lawyer’s Well-being Brief. Every week, I share insights and tools to help us improve our well-being. This week, I’m sharing the tale of the two Lumberjacks.

The Tale of Two Lumberjacks: A Lesson on Well-Being

Imagine this: Two lumberjacks set out into the forest for a day of chopping trees. At sunrise, they pick up their axes and get to work. The first lumberjack, fueled by determination, chops relentlessly from dawn to dusk, pausing only briefly for water and a bite to eat. He’s certain that his non-stop effort will produce the best results.

The second lumberjack, on the other hand, follows a different rhythm. He works hard but takes short breaks throughout the day. Every hour or so, he sits down, rests, and sharpens his axe. By the time the sun sets, the second lumberjack has felled far more trees than the first.

The first lumberjack, bewildered, asks, “How did you cut down more trees when you spent so much time resting?”

The second lumberjack smiles and says, “Because I took the time to sharpen my axe.”

--

--

Marc W. Crayton
Marc W. Crayton

Written by Marc W. Crayton

I help high achieving lawyers make better well-being decisions so that they can thrive personally and professionally. Forward, always!

No responses yet