Maintaining Your Perspective Tips

“If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too”

From “IF”

Rudyard Kipling

Kipling’s iconic poem is about the importance of maintaining our perspective, regardless of the circumstances; a theme that is crucial to success in real estate sales.Let’s begin with a short definition: perspective is the way in which we see the world, from the Latin root meaning “look through.” In other words, we “look through” our preconceived notions and attitudes in order to change our ultimate view of the world around us.It’s important for real estate professionals to maintain perspective, or, in other words, to keep their heads about then when others might be losing theirs. It’s a business where the incredible financial upside is balanced by the reality of rejection and frustration. But by having a healthy perspective about life, and the business, you can absorb these frustrations and move forward with confidence and resolve.Here are 10 tips to help you keep your perspective grounded in the coming year:

1. Stay in the moment. Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed by the long-term outlook. Yes, you need long-term goals, but you need to stay solidly in the moment to deal with the myriad opportunities and challenges you face NOW.
2. Know what you can control. Stuff happens, much of it beyond your control (like a prospect who is ready to sign, but changes their mind at the last minute).
3. Use affirmations. Top performers in our business understand the value of taking the time to reinforce themselves by using positive affirmations, daily or even several times a day.
4. Turn off your screens. With 24-hour coverage and screens always at the ready, we can easily get sucked into the negativity of daily news. It’s OK to be informed, but obsessive news and/or social media consumption can drain our energy, and distort our perspective.
5. Find an accountability partner. Yes, accountability partners help keep you focused on your important tasks. But, maybe more importantly, a trusted partner is valuable in reminding you when your perspective is askew, and what you need to do to get back on track.
6. Celebrate your accomplishments. Take time each day to write down what you’ve accomplished. Then, at the end of the week or every few weeks, review those accomplishments. One accomplishment can offset any number of disappointments and keep your attitude and energy positive.
7. Keep active. Sometimes we can allow ourselves to slip into boredom, and possibly look to diversions to entertain us. Make sure your workday is fully-scheduled and active to minimize the chance of getting bored, and lapsing into the kind of negative thinking that feeds on itself.
8. Practice gratitude. Taking as little as five minutes before going to bed each night to jot down the things you are grateful for is an excellent way to maintain your perspective. The practice helps ground you, reminding you of what’s important in your life.
9. Create boundaries. It’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of someone else’s negativity. You can be supportive and empathetic, but only to the degree that is not dragging your energy down.
10. Consider the other person’s perspective. Surely, you’ve had situations where someone blows up at you for no apparent reason. You might get angry or defensive (“What did I do to deserve that?”) Then you discover that that person is having a very bad day. In other words, your perspective changes, and you understand that the blow-up had nothing to do with you. That’s why it’s always important to step back and take a deep breath in every situation, allowing yourself to consider what the other person might be going through.

Maintaining proper perspective means accepting “what is,” not overreacting and considering the context of any situation. All of which are excellent qualities for any real estate agent to possess.