It’s an interesting time. Inflation remains high, but the job market continues to show strength. According to an AP News Article, employers added a huge burst of jobs last month — more than 300,000 — and the unemployment rate dipped to a low 3.8% from 3.9%. Home prices are still quite high and while the Fed stated they’d be be looking to cut interest rates three times this year, some economists are saying two rate cuts or less, would be more realistic. So with all of the unknowns, what the heck should we do to move forward!?
I’ve recently had conversations with a few friends who are unhappy with their current situations and feeling stuck. Either they’re not feeling like they’re gaining traction with what they’re currently doing or they are uncertain where they should go or what they should do to get out of their current funk.
While I’ve been there, and still find myself tripping at times, I’m of the mindset that clarity comes through movement. And while I do understand the need to sit with things, explore possibilities and not just react, I find if nothing changes, nothing changes. When I find myself in these spots, I educate myself around skills, mindset or behavior change, then try and put what I’ve learned into action. Instead of talking in metaphors, here are some recent examples from my own business and life….
Building Discipline: Just a few days ago, I was feeling unfocused and squirrely when working on a new email campaign. I couldn’t get into the Deep Work (shout out to Cal Newport) and recognized I wasn’t focussing. Instead of synching into the abyss, I decided to move my body and go for a bike ride, where I listened to a podcast about procrastination. It gave me tactical tools and tips to get my mind right, so I could go do the work.
Mindset Shift: I have a bit of a frugal approach to things, which can be great in certain areas of my life (building up emergency funds and funding my retirement accounts) but has often held me back from big things. I’ve been working on my scarcity mindset for years, listening to podcasts, journaling and sitting down to look at my actual financial situation. Understanding the psychology of money (shout out to Morgan Housel) helped reframe how I thought about it. I created a money mantra, created a mission statement and aligned my actions with my values.
Learning and Continuous Education: Real Estate is a heavily regulated, always shifting business and keeping up-to-date on shifts and new legislation or regulations is essential. With the recent NAR settlement (having to do with commission) changes are fast approaching. I can either complain that it’s unfair (I don’t actually think it is!) or confusing (I’ve always tried to explain and educate clients on commission and process & try to go to the actual source) or completely throwing my hands up and quitting, I’ve attended classes around the changes, educated myself via industry experts and articles and put out information to my clients and sphere.
Building new skills, educating yourself around solutions rather than problems, and practicing mindset shifts allow you to move forward. If you’re feeling stuck, resist the urge to sink down into it and remember that clarity comes through movement.