Handling Anxiety.

Does working in real estate give you anxiety?

I was just talking to a friend about this over the weekend, and another group member posted related to this topic yesterday.

For the first many years of my business, I felt the anxiety all the time. I remember especially the year that my first son was born (just under 2 years into my career), it was horrible.

My husband was angry or irritated with me all the time because I was attached to my business (and my phone or computer) 24/7. I constantly felt guilty that I was not spending enough time with my son (and then my second son 2 years later), yet I was terrified that my clients would be upset with me if I wasn’t right there every single second that they “needed” me.

In time, I came to realize that the only people that really had any right to be upset with me was my little family. As long as I was providing good service and doing a good job for my clients (which I could do without trying to soothe them 24/7) if they were upset it had more to do with themselves than it did with me … and the better I became at setting expectations and conducting myself with boundaries the easier it became.

We often feel guilt when we miss a call, take a vacation, or otherwise aren’t available immediately when requested. Do you think your clients feel guilt when they miss our call, or don’t get their documents turned into the lender in time, or aren’t ready for listing photos when promised? Probably not.

Buying and selling a home is stressful. Moving is stressful. There is no doubt that our clients are under a tremendous amount of pressure during the time that we are working with them … but that doesn’t mean that we need to CARRY their burden. We can care, without carrying. And that begins by understanding and accepting that not everything needs to be done by you personally, that you don’t have to respond to every call, text and email right away, and that your value to your client is much more than just your availability.

How do you handle feelings of anxiety in your business?