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4 Mental skills that are critical to your success in real estate

By khorhuimin, Feb 21 2020


Motivational speaker and mental toughness expert, Wong Yu Jin shares his top tips for real estate agents who are looking to gain a competitive advantage and set themselves apart from the rest of the pack.

Real estate is a competitive market, and it is no easy feat being a real estate agent. There will be good days and bad days, ups and downs, and it takes some skills to navigate the not-so-good days. So, how do keep yourself motivated and keep on going when you are feeling down?

What are the common challenges faced by real estate agents?

According to Wong Yu Jin, who is a Certified NLP Practitioner, a Certified Hypnotherapist, a Certified TLT (Time Line Therapy) Consultant, an Impact System Coach and a Master Class Trainer, “Many people have fear and it is reflected in the actions they take. Due to their fear, they choose to make ‘safe’ choices and take the ‘safe’ route, and avoid risks.”

In a blog for Forbes.com, Sara Eckel explains that most people are not good at evaluating risks. In actual fact, what causes their fear is the feeling that they cannot control the outcome. Therefore, they might avoid doing something because they believe the outcome will not be favourable. However, there are people who seem to be able to take risks without much trouble. The difference these two groups of people is a sense of confidence.

“A lack of clarity also hinders the progress of many people. As a result, they do not set concrete goals that are measurable and achievable,” said Wong, who is also an award-winning motivational speaker.

Another challenge for people is they listen too much to naysayers, who always tell them that they cannot achieve their dreams

4 Mental skills that are critical to an agent’s success

According to Wong, there are four essential mental skills that are required for real estate agents to achieve success, which are resilience, mental optimization, confidence and knowledge.

1. Resilience

Resilience is the ability to bounce back quickly from rejection, failure, mistakes and adversity. The faster one bounces back, the quicker success will eventually come.

Adversity happens to the best of people. Some people can get knocked down by life and come back at least as strong as before, and that is because of their resilience. Rather than focusing on the negative, and letting themselves be overwhelmed by their difficulties, becoming drained and disillusioned, they find a way to rise up again.

“The most important thing is to first realize you are feeling down or not motivated. Too many of us pretend we are fine, but the motivation meter is low. One of my favourite ways to motivate myself is to have powerful affirmations. These are words which are carefully selected and said over and over again to ourselves in an emotionally-charged way,” said Wong.

According to Psychology Today, psychologists have identified some of the factors that make a person resilient, such as:

  • A positive attitude
  • Optimism
  • The ability to regulate emotions
  • The ability to see failure as a form of helpful feedback

Research shows that in the wake of negative or disturbing experiences, optimism actually helps to blunt the impact of stress on the mind and body. That in turn allows people to have access to their own cognitive resources –they are able to perform cool-headed analysis of what might have gone wrong and consider changing to more productive behavioural paths.

  • It is important to watch our self-talk. Quite often, we automatically say negative things to ourselves. We must be able to command our self-talk, to be able to switch negativity to positivity in an instant. This is probably one of the most important mental skills. -Wong Yu Jin-

Resilience is not some magical quality that certain people are born with. It takes real effort and real mental work to overcome hardship. Even after experiencing misfortune, resilient people are able to evaluate their situation, study what went wrong, then change course and move towards achieving their goals. There is growing evidence that it is possible to cultivate the elements of resilience.

2. Mental optimization

The second important mental skill is mental optimization. The important skill here is to have a strong ability to focus and be disciplined – to weed out all distractions.

Some benefits of setting a routine:

  • A form of self-investment
  • Gives you structure
  • Enables you to build forward-moving habits
  • Helps to create momentum to keep you going on the days you feel down
  • Establishes priorities
  • Limits procrastination
  • Keeps track of goals

Establishing a routine will help you to lower your reliance on willpower and motivation. According to Tynan, the author of Superhuman by Habit, habits are “action[s] that you take on a repeated basis with little or no required effort or thought.

3. Confidence

The third mental skill is confidence. Confidence is the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something. Confidence is something that you can create and cultivate in order to push yourself towards your goals.

  • People can be confident not only in things they are familiar with, but also develop strong self-trust in new ventures. -Wong Yu Jin-

Learning how to be confident at work is essential for your success. Studies have even shown that those with higher self-confidence earn more than their peers with lower self-esteem. But how can you be more confident in the workplace?

According to Tony Robbins, you can become more confident by:

  • Changing your physiology
  • Taking pride in your achievements
  • Using goal visualization

How can you change your physiology? First, you stand up straight, square your shoulders and open up your chest. Breathe deeply. When you walk, walk with brisk, purposeful strides to cover more ground. Having a posture like this makes you feel stronger and more confident.

There is something about Asian upbringing that makes many of us shy when people praise us or give us a compliment. Some people go as far as to reject the compliment. You should stop doing that and start to take pride in your achievements. Confident people take credit for their achievements, and it helps them to make more money. Claiming your achievements is not bragging – it is just acknowledging that you did a good thing. If your work contributed to the success of a project at work, you are stating a fact, and it is not wrong to point it out to your manager or CEO.

Positive visualisation can also help people to become more confident. You should think of yourself succeeding. Also, please minimise any thoughts of failure. Whatever you focus on grows and visualising your goal will help to improve your confidence.

4. Knowledge

Formal learning ends with the completion of school, college or university, for most people. However, learning is really a lifelong process. The world is always changing and evolving. You obtain new information every day.

“Knowledge is important for your success. You need to have the ability to continuously learn, all the time, everywhere. Deciding what is important can help you further your career and achieve greater success,” said Wong.

What else can agents do?

Success is not only about strategy, working hard and overcoming obstacles. Keeping yourself fit and healthy is important too. If you are unwell, you will not be able to perform in an optimal way.

“I am a big proponent of a healthy lifestyle. We must keep the body healthy in order to optimise the mind. The three best things to cut down are sugar, saturated fat and processed food. It is important to consume fresh, colourful and not-overcooked vegetables constantly to keep our energy levels up. Also, stay hydrated by drinking more water throughout the day,” advised Wong.

Want to get more advice and tips from Wong Yu Jin? You are in luck! He will be speaking at the upcoming Momentum Conference by iProperty.com.my on March 18 at New World Hotel, Petaling Jaya. If you are interested to register or find out more, click here.

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