Mindfulness to improve real estate agent performance: good emotional management

This article explores how mindfulness for real estate agents can be the key to improving their quality of life.

Many estate agents live their daily lives trapped in a constant cycle of "short term" activities, very focused on doing, often forgetting about being. Like headless chickens, they make an enquiry, a second visit, prepare a sale, the signing of a deposit... and they are as focused on the benefits of achieving these operations as they are on the detriments of not achieving them.  

Stephen Covey, renowned personal leadership guru and author of one of the most recognised and best-selling books on self-leadership, The 7 habits of highly effective peopleillustrated it perfectly: "We're so busy driving that we forget to put petrol in the tank.

As real estate agents we constantly live in this culture of driving and driving and we go from euphoria to frustration in a matter of minutes, directly affecting our performance. This is where mindfulness is an essential tool for the emotional management of real estate agents. 

Real estate agents go from euphoria to the worst frustration in a matter of minutes and this has a direct impact on our performance. 

The Roman poet Juvenal, in the 2nd century B.C., already proclaimed a principle that resonates strongly today: "Mens Sana in Corpore Sano". This maxim reminds us of the importance of taking care of both body and mind. Today, just as we strengthen our bodies in gyms and sports centres, it is essential to cultivate our mental health for effective stress management. For real estate agents, this translates into adopting mindfulness practices, such as emotional self-observation, yoga or meditation, which allow us to maintain a mindful and focused on the present.

What is mindfulness and how does it benefit real estate agents? 

The mindfulness involves intentionally focusing our attention on the present, being fully aware of our current experiences. For real estate agents, this means being more present in each task, recognising and managing the mental projections that can affect us emotionally. 

Mindfulness practice for real estate agents 

• Mindfulness techniques: include emotional self-observation, to bring your attention to discovering how you live in the here and now.
• Daily exercises: From paying attention to every step on a walk to focusing on the sensations when eating or showering: how you breathe, what you hear, what you feel, what the food looks/smells/tasts/textures are....
• Complementary practices: Yoga, pilates, meditation and mindfulness breathing are excellent for cultivating mindfulness. 

All actions that bring you closer to the art of noticing how you are experiencing a situation are useful. Start by dividing your attention for one minute, second by second, paying attention to what you are doing and how you are experiencing it. Identify your emotions and accept them without rejecting them.

Impact of mindfulness on real estate agents' performance

Adopting mindfulness can transform the way real estate agents deal with everyday stress, helping us to stay calm, maintain a healthier mental and social balance, make more informed decisions and increase our attention span and focus. 

By being more focused and better at managing work pressures, we will foster our communication and empathy skills, which are essential to understanding and meeting our customers' needs. We are more present and attentive to their needs; we establish a more authentic and meaningful connection, enabling us to provide them with a more personalised and satisfying service.

Mindfulness in history and its modern application

Although mindfulness has its roots in the Buddhist meditative tradition for more than 2,500 years, its modern Western adaptation is largely due to Jon Kabat-Zinn. In 1979, at the Massachusetts hospital where he worked, Kabat-Zinn introduced the M.B.S.R. (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) programme for stress reduction in chronically ill patients. His introductory book on mindfulness is an excellent guide to begin this transformative practice.

Mindfulness emerges as a powerful tool for real estate agents, enabling them to better manage stress and improve their focus. By adopting these practices, they not only benefit professionally, but also achieve greater personal wellbeing and a deeper connection with their clients.

Further reading: Mindfulness for real estate agents.