In all the deals I’ve handled in my career as a real estate agent for the past two and half years, none of them went through without a glitch. Yes, absolutely none. There’s always bound to be problems rising along the way in every single deal. At times, I’d wonder if it’s just my luck.
Sometimes, things would get so frustrating that I’d start asking myself, “Why can’t things just go smoothly? Why is there always something happening to potentially jeopardise the deal? Somebody give me a break, please!”
However, I later found out that it’s not just me. A few of my veteran colleagues whom I spoke to told me that throughout their real estate career, they have also encountered countless problems along the way.
They also told me that they would be hard pressed to recall a deal which went through smooth as silk. Only two of them told me they’ve probably come across 3 or 4 deals in their 7-8 year career that were a walk in the park. All the rest are a challenge.
Some of the problems we’ve encountered were big, while some were just minor hiccups. No matter how, these are hitches we need to overcome.
Once I’ve come to terms that there’s no way to avoid problems as they’re just part and parcel of life, I learn to face them with a positive attitude. Because that allows me to deal with them better and thus, lead a less stressful life.
So how do you deal with problems with a positive attitude? Here are 8 tips which you might find useful.
1. Acknowledge that problems are fine. You don’t have to feel ashamed or embarrassed. Problems are inevitable. Everybody faces them, including the highly successful people.
When problems arise, it doesn’t mean you’ve handled things poorly. They are just there to help you grow to become a wiser and stronger person. Problems are great growth lessons to be learnt and embraced.
2. Manage your reaction to a problem. Don’t over-react to a problem or exaggerate the negative impact of a problem. Managing your reaction to a problem helps you remain in control of the problem instead of letting the problem controls you.
Most of the times, it’s not the problem that will determine how things are going to turn out for you. It’s usually your response to the problem that will create a greater impact on the outcome.
3. “A” problem is likely to be a series of problems. For example, do you find that your employees are ineffective? Well, there could be several problems underlying.
It may be that your business system is ineffective; your recruitment system is ineffective; you fail to motivate your employees; you pay them too little; your competitors are poaching all your better employees; etc.
You need to carefully identify all the possible underlying problems and tackle each of them separately. And begin with the easy ones first to build up your confidence.
4. Seek help to solve your problems. Don’t feel shy to ask for help. Everybody needs help. Nobody can pull it off all alone. People who ask for help are the most successful people.
The one thing that stands in your way to seek help is your ‘ego’. Never fall into the trap of letting your ego prevent you from receiving healthy and constructive advice, feedback, and opinions.
Acknowledge that there are always people smarter than you, more experienced than you, more skilful than you, and more creative than you. These are the people you’d want to seek help from.
5. There’s always an opportunity behind every problem. In the comment section of my previous blog post, How to Handle an Angry Client, I mentioned that an angry client actually presents you a very good opportunity to win a very loyal client because the angrier the client is, the more likely it is that he/she will remain loyal to you if you do a wonderful job in helping him/her resolve the problems.
If you approach a problem with a positive attitude, you’ll always find an opportunity to turn it into something of value to you.
6. Problems don’t last. Problems may be tough issues to tackle and it may prove to be a tough period when problems, especially big problems, are overwhelming you. However, tough times don’t last; tough people do.
Every problem will pass as time goes by. Problems will not hang around forever. They are only temporary situations. Be patient. The sun will always rise when the night has come to an end.
7. There’s always something you can do about a problem. Problems aren’t meant to stop you. They’re meant to be solved! Problems are never totally impossible. You just need to be more receptive to advice, more observant, more willing to try, more creative, more confident.
8. Seek retreat. Have a good laugh. Don’t keep harping on the problem. Yes, you need to work on the solution. But you also need a break. You need to loosen up in order to stay afresh.
I’ve always believed laughter to be one of the best medicines. It helps to relax your body physically and mentally. In fact, there have been many researches discovering the benefits of laughter.
When you’re frustrated and stressed, nothing beats a good laugh. Watch a comedy; stay positive. That will help you to clear your mental clutter to think better.
Cheers~
P.S. Do you have any tips on how to deal with problems? Please share with us in the comments section below.
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on Jun 5th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
this time i’m having a hard time dealing with my problems..
i reach to the point that all i can do is cry and cry, it’s just a way of diverting my emotions. Now after reading your tips and advices it inspires me to go on and find solutions to it. And then i get a copy of your advices and i’ll place it in my organizer and whenever another problem comes along all i have to do is just read this again and again…
on Jun 7th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Hi Cami,
I’m glad you’ve found these tips to be helpful and I hope you will gradually start to adopt a positive attitude toward problems.
Cheers~
Mark