Ok, first let me just clear something up – take the word prayer as you will, in fact take the word god however you want too. It can be called a mantra, an affirmation, a positive phrase. God could be universe, or spirit, or even just omitted. This is not a post about religion.
Great, so, most of us know the great Serenity Prayer right? 3 little lines that are easy to remember, yet can be so impactful on almost every area of life. But we’ll stick to real estate here.
A lil refresher for you:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference.
I could go on and on about how the serenity prayer helps me in literally every single real estate transaction, but this is about you, my clients, buyers, and sellers, those in the trenches of one of the most wonderful, stressful, emotional, fun, difficult events ever.
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change, there is so much in real estate you have zero control over. The interest rate, the houses that are available, sometimes the minds of the people on the other side of the transaction, when things go wrong, etc. Imagine how much easier it would feel to just let it go. LET IT GO! LET IT GOOOOOOO!(thank you Elsa & Disney for my mantra in life. Resistance just leads to stress, disappointment, and a more wild roller coaster than is necessary – give it try.
Courage to change the things I can, in the real estate scenario, when I think of this line I think about changing one’s mind, changing one’s expectations. Do you know how hard this is for most people? It’s hard! When you are buying a house you have a vision of your home, what you want it to look like, the size, the location, the price, the flooring, everything. When you are selling you are expecting a price, a time frame, and perhaps ease. Often there’s a huge wake-up call, and you have to have the courage to change your view, to go forward and trust.
Or what about this scenario, changing your REALTOR® – eeek, that is scary right? It’s awkward to fire someone, and it’s hard to disappoint someone, but if it’s not working for you, that’s a change you can make. Be brave.
The wisdom to know the difference, this line is everything! Sometimes it’s hard to discern if an issue is something to let go of or fight for. Often it’s obvious to everyone but you. Getting quiet, thoughtful, and calm so that you can see the reality of, a situation, the real pros and cons, and whether it’s truly worth it or not, is the key to the serenity you seek.
Let me know what you think. Do you use the serenity “mantra” in your life? I seriously have thought about writing posts applying to literally every aspect of my life.
Namaste peeps.
