What Were You Thinking?

One phrase you’ll probably never hear this Sacramento real estate agent mutter is: What was I thinking? Because a) I generally know what I am thinking and b) it’s usually right, because I’ve worked through a process to arrive at a reasonable conclusion. One of the biggest problems I’ve encountered in the real estate industry is that so many people do not think. They react. They do. They participate. They take action. Words fast fall out of their mouths, like some drunken orgy, but they don’t think.

I’ve encountered agents whom I want to grab by the shoulders and shake. We have all had that experience. I’m not alone. We want to scream: What were you thinking? But it doesn’t matter because it was the wrong thing. Sometimes, it’s a horribly wrong thing.

What is wrong with thinking twice? Or three times? Or asking yourself: what are the consequences if I choose option A over B? Are there other choices I have yet to contemplate that might better fit the situation at hand? How will others react to me? Am I doing the right thing?

You know who often does the wrong thing? Individuals who think only about themselves. People who believe the world revolves around them and they are the most important item in it. They focus on narcissism and call it self help. They run around in circles unsupervised, like a chicken with its head cut off.

And this is why most real estate agents are not successful. To be successful you have to think about other people, how other people react, and what is truly best for your clients over what is best for yourself. Because what is best for your clients is always always always what is best for you.

The answer to what were you thinking is you were not. I wish we could teach people how to think and reason. That used to be what schools were for and why we read books. #Whatwereyouthinking? You weren’t.