There are any number of articles written about the property market every week, exploring the challenges buyers and sellers are facing after sustained periods of change.
What is less written about is the impact such a market can have on agents themselves; and how we can preserve and protect ourselves amidst what are some of the most trying conditions in our careers to date.
Add to that the emotional weight of guiding clients through one of the most stressful and financially important decisions of their lives, and personally, I think it’s a topic that deserves more airtime.
Over my 15-plus years of real estate experience – 10 of those spent developing high-performing agents and teams – the importance of mindset and the role it plays in self-preservation has been proven time again.
I’ve worked with agents who are at the top of their game, but who’ve got there with short-term thinking and unsustainable strategies.
They chase the highs, avoid the lows and focus on the ‘days’.
Then there are those who focus on the ‘decades’; many of my former and current colleagues and mentors.
These are the agents (and industry icons) intent on sustaining their success, committed to continual learning, always striving for excellence, and equally, focused on feeling great while they do it.
Enter The CEO Mindset, where in this edition, I’ll take you through five of my favourite strategies and mindset shifts to help you level up this year while protecting your peace.
Find comfort in discomfort
The first time I heard about ‘The Rule of Thirds’ was from an Olympian that had applied this method of thinking when approaching events.
It’s a theory that reframes the common struggles we all experience and feel when going after something we want.
It goes like this: when you’re chasing a dream or striving to achieve something, you’re ideally meant to feel ‘good’ only one-third of the time.
The other two-thirds are split between feeling ‘okay’ and feeling ‘uncomfortable’.
If, for example, you’re feeling comfortable 100 per cent of the time, chances are you aren’t pushing yourself enough to change certain habits or behaviours.
Equally if you are feeling uneasy 100 per cent of the time, there’s room to improve how you manage your stress levels and look after your mental health.
There’s a lot we can learn from this framework, and I encourage those of you looking to take your career to the next level to reassess your expectations in line with it.
I also love this quote and read it to myself when I need a reminder of pushing through the tough times.
“Agitation is the edge where learning is beginning. It’s a stir of chemicals cueing the brain to change.
“The agitation, the stress, the struggle is the cue to the nervous system that it’s about to rewire itself.”
Effortless does not equal easy
Chances are there’s someone you admire in the industry because of how effortlessly they seem to attract success.
How do they make it to look so easy?
Enter the ‘Effort Paradox’ – the idea that the most seamless and effortless performances are actually the most practised and the hardest to perfect.
The agents able to appear this way are the ones who’ve put in the constant time to practise, prepare and, importantly, execute. Remember that.
Nor does growth come quickly
Along a similar line of thinking is the ‘Growth Paradox’, which explores how meaningful growth takes a much longer time coming than you may think.
When it does, it happens much faster than you would have thought.
It’s a great reminder that even if things aren’t moving quite as fast as you’d like in your career, it can and will happen if you stay the course – and more suddenly than you expected.
When you realise this, you start thinking about things differently.
Energy management
I’m calling energy management the new time management and for good reason.
How can you strategically manage your time if you don’t have the energy for reason, wise judgement or perspective?
Lacking emotional and physical energy has a costly knock-on-effect in all areas of our life and work.
Some ways you can check and protect your energy are to examine your daily routines, practices and activities in and outside the office.
Focus not only on the big ones but the small ones too.
It’s often the minor repetitive habits we engage in or the niggling thoughts we have day in, day out that are the biggest strain on our energy.
You either win or you learn
This is one of my favourite quotes.
I truly believe that in every situation there is an opportunity for reflection and growth.
It can be easy to hide from or ignore our mistakes or flaws, but I encourage you to lean into it.
Push past the ego that wants to forget it and the discomfort it conjures up.
Be bold in talking about areas for improvement with a manager or mentor.
Be confident in asking for feedback, proud about your openness to vulnerability and unapologetic in your commitment to growth.
With that, I look forward to seeing how you level up in 2023.
