"He who laughs has not yet heard the bad news."  Bertolt Brecht

In Parts One and Two of this installment of the Almost Daily Word you got the straight skinny on the subtle and not-so-subtle signs that you could fail the California Bar Exam.  Still reading? Good for you.  You can't change the past.  But you can make yourself stronger, smarter, more strategic and better prepared for what's ahead. We're onto the How of it and have already discussed learning styles.  Here are some "know thyself" questions you may not have considered.

-           What kind of personality do I have?  I'm not talking just about whether you're outgoing or shy.  Your personality is the complex of the behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental attributes that make you the unique person that you are. 

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an assessment of how you perceive the world and make decisions.  Despite differences in opinion concerning its validity among experts, it may be the world's most widely used personality assessment.  You can fill out a questionnaire on line that will help you understand which of 16 personality types you are and what that can mean to your Bar Exam preparation. 

   -        What is my emotional style?     "Flow" is the positive psychology first proposed by Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.  In a nutshell, it is a feeling of confident and single-minded immersion in a task.  When you have it you feel energized, joyful and "dialed in" to what you are doing.  You can achieve it for all or part of the Bar Exam, but to do so you'll need to harness not only your intellect but your emotions.  So, what is your emotional style?  Do you operate best when you are calm or when you are stimulated? Do you prepare best when you are reassured (say, by the presence of a teacher or mentor) or when you are a little nervous? How can you adjust your preparation to your emotional style bring out your flow at crunch time.

-           Could I have an undiagnosed learning, or other, disability?  Several times, on a hunch, I've asked my students who took the bar exam without accommodation whether they thought  they might be learning-disabled.  All of them admitted that they had.  Some eventually documented, applied for and received accommodation, with good results.  How to deal with a learning disability is a highly personal choice.  Please remember though: If you have a disability, appropriate accommodation on the Bar Examination is a right that the law guaranties to you. 

Not feeling any better after reading all this?  Don't abandon hope.  More strategies are on their way in this installment of The Almost Daily Word.