Yesterday, Matt Schmidt and Amanda Bynum tought "Stress Management & Wellness: a Toolkit for Lawyers" for the State Bar of Arizona. The program was attended by over 70 people in person and online. In sum, the seminar focused on practical mindfulness strategies to overcome five primary elements that contribute to stress: negative anchors, lack of control, too many choices, isolation and worry. Matt and Amanda countered each stressor with a positive element to overcome each one: awareness, control, choice limitation, socialization and action/focus. The three hour talk was engaging and thought provoking, providing good pointers--with science to back it--to manage the stress of the overwhelming life of a lawyer. The audience asked good questions, leading to good discussions involving challenging concepts.

Matt currently writes "Mind your Mind," a regular column in the Pima County Bar Association's monthly publication "The Writ." Several times a year, Matt also gives talks at the law school to help law students prepare for the career and life they are heading into. In fact, Matt has been a guest speaker a few times at Amanda's career development class.

Matt enjoys talking to others about mindfulness strategies, so feel free to contact him anytime with any questions or thoughts.