I don't know about you, but I think Matthew McConaughey, as an actor, was born to portray a passionate and ambitious lawyer. Some of my favorite movies of his is where he portrays this heroic lawyer, passionately fighting for a cause against all odds. What I love about his characters is that he always starts off as an arrogant, overly confidant defending lawyer with a condescending yet charismatic exaggerated southern drawl. You get the feeling that he thinks he stands to win no matter what, even though he is up against all odds, but you know better. There always seems to be a moral turning point where the true character emerges though and suddenlt you feel different. From here he takes the case to new levels, employing several specialists, building a team to re-create a new perspective and a passionate case to bring the verdict home as the prosecutor watches the case slip away from their grasp in the story's final scenes. You love to hate him at first and you wrestle with his perspective, only to cheer for him and his cause towards the end. In some movies, it doesn't always end in him believing in the cause he started with, but he sure does a great job of bringing the scripts' paradigm shifts to believable life.
A courtroom is a place where an outcome is at stake; either the current perception remains, or it is changed. The defendant sits on the bench accused of murder. The perception is murder is wrong. Before the proceedings begin, the defendant sits in the perception of wrong, and it is up to the lawyer to change that perception. A courtroom is a place where the plaintiff accuses an institution of wrongdoing - they are suing because they slipped on the sidewalk of their establishment and believe it is their fault and wish to pursue proving this. Slipping and hurting yourself is wrong , nobody wants that. An emotion is tied to the suffering. Or, conversely, some folks have already decided to start with the other perception - this is a another money-grubbing so and so. Either way - most of the audience can't help but start with a perception and await for proof to buy into the other perception. Scripts to these types of scenarios that make it to the big screen purposely try to have you sit in one perception for half of the movie, so as to give more meat to the efforts the heroic lawyers go to to change not only the jury's perception in the back half of the drama, but the audience at home as well. Crafted well enough, they are carefully written to make you think and relate, and perhaps more importantly, make you feel - as you join the underdog in his quest to change the tides. As our protagonist comes closer to the truth and building the case with the help of his specialist team portrayed by emotionally compelling actors (who doesn't love Sandra Bullock's character in "A time to Kill", or William H Macey in the "Lincoln Lawyer") - more and more conflict arises. The long lasting change in perception that will occur when the javelin is struck is not wanted and not welcome - and the popular perception fights hard to avoid the coming outcome.
Is internal change so unlike this? Think of something you wanted to change. Lets say you want to get into a new habit of reading more every day. The outcome is that you want to be more educated and knowledgeable in a subject that you know you are passionate about. But you don't! Why? Before long, you may see that other habits have developed that are deeply entrenched in your subconscious that you know are not conducive to your outcome. They are, in fact, taking the time in your life that could have and should be dedicated to this time for reading or studying to better yourself to an ends of living your passion. In this moment, the bad habits stand accused. They are delivered a summons to appear in court because you are accusing them of taking valuable time in your life that could have been dedicated to what you really want to do! Now, if we are talking small, relatively new, and almost insignificant habits that can easily interchange with good habits, you can probably just exercise your right to a lawyer paid for by the government. That new kid, fresh out of law school, her eyes like a deer in headlights, salivating at the chance to prove the case. And this small, arbitrary habit, can only afford a cheap, fly-by-night sleeze bag of a lawyer after seeing their ad on tv at 4am. Chances are good that you will win the case and the bad habit will be sent to prison so the good habit can prevail! Your rookie law-kid didn't even need to research much - the case was pretty much closed because the jury and the judge took one look at it and thought "no brainer". Could be something as simple as taking a new route to work because you get there faster and get an hour back of your life. Shit... that's easy...
But!! What if you catch on to the trail of a stronger habit - lets pretend this one is a serial killer or ruthless gangster, for perspective, the chilling likes of the ones you might see in such movies as The Usual Suspects. The type that has gone undetected and grows stronger and stronger, perfecting his craft along the decades of his destructive behaviors, always getting better and better at avoiding the law and avoiding detection, leaving no evidence behind. Yes, this evil habit is a regular Kaizer Soze of villains, and the court appointed lawyer will get ripped to shreds by his masterfully crafted manipulations. This bastard of a habit will charm the jury into believing YOU are wrong for even accusing him! Chances are, he'll win the case! To make matters worse - he's got the most cutthroat, expensive lawyer on the payroll! His wicked ways have amassed great wealth, enough to hire the best of the best - I'm thinking Kevin Spacey from A time to kill. And what if he does win the case? I don't know much about law but I'm pretty sure you're only allowed to bring a case to court a very short few times (once, maybe?) - otherwise its "case closed" - unless you bring new, unrelated and compelling evidence! You got that one shot at making this happen. Further attempts will degrade your case's credibility. Each re-attempt gets more and more difficult!
So you are going to need a hero. And your hero is going to need a lot of effort, passion, compelling evidence, and a good team of specialists to make the case and win! A case this big will take a long time to fight. It will go to court day in and day out, with witnesses taking the stand and testimonies being given. There will be times where the new perception grows weary and feels like its out of evidence, and may as well give in to what seems like an inevitable verdict. Where that team needs to stay up till 4am researching, searching for clues and building a lasting case that will win, so that the bad habit / serial killer can be put away and the good habit / perception can truly take hold! As I've said several times- the subconscious is an incredibly powerful force - and it operates on the perceptions its been allowed to cement as your reality. Imagine that the subconscious is that judgmental, one sided jury and judge with a highly credible lawyer convincing it not to change their mind from the familiar perception. Your conscious is the plaintiff - sick of the current perception and fighting to bring change.
What habits stand accused in your life that need to make way for your desired habits? How much are you willing to invest in a "lawyer?" Does that lawyer have access to the resources to build your case? Is that lawyer passionate and ready to put up a good fight or are you only investing in the cheapest defense/ prosecution? There are little to no quick fixes in life, a good fight needs a good fighter. You may have experienced this in the past when you have tried to change a habit, felt like you were so close, only to end up back to the old habits. How hard are you willing to fight for change? Lasting change? Put the bad habits away for life, dont make them simply wait for a few weeks to win their way back into your reality because their lawyer beat your lawyer.
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