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Gratitude for a Future Where We’re Smarter

As we approach the end of 2023, we have the opportunity, while our businesses slow to make room for the holiday season, to look back over the course of the past year and reflect upon those things we should be grateful for. This is something I try to do every year at this time.

Those of us who work primarily in the real estate industry, with the multi-year downturn and the real estate commission settlements, may find little in the past year to be thankful for. I think that’s short sighted.

It’s understandable, of course. We have families to feed, bills to pay. Change, especially change that we do not initiate is scary, and often painful.

And yet, I think that since we cannot stop it, we should choose to be grateful for it. Why? Because any change we survive will make us stronger.

I know. How very Neitzsche of me.

You don’t have to be a philosopher to see the wisdom in this. Change, when properly viewed, is a source of mild stress. Medical professionals know that low-level stressors stimulate the production of brain chemicals called neurotrophins and strengthen the connections between neurons in the brain.

As I look back over the past year, I see many changes impacting me and the people I care about. I don’t know where they will take us, but I choose to believe that wherever we are bound, we’re going to be smarter when we get there.

How SMART Are Your Goals?

I think a lot of people say “goal” and mean pretty much the same thing they mean when they say “dream” or “New Year’s Resolution.” They are not the same thing.

Most of us in the business world have heard of SMART Goals: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. For my money, I usually do pretty well just setting M Goals. It has to be measurable or you’ll never know when you achieve it. Not so sure about the other things.

I know. Sacrilege!

You can get pretty specific for short term goals, because you can practically see them from here. But the Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals that we should be setting are likely to take longer to achieve and that distance can make them fuzzy. Don’t worry, it’s the tasks along the route that need to be clearly focused and they’ll come into focus as we go.

I have a real problem with achievable and realistic goals. If you can achieve it, it’s not really a goal at all. It’s a task. Not a bad thing but it’s not like you have to put much thought into it. The beauty of goal setting is that it forces us to imagine a world that probably doesn’t look very realistic at all from where we are today. Good. It will force us to grow into someone for whom our goals are more realistic.

I’m a big believer in seeing what we want in the fullness of time. Setting a deadline can help us work backwards and set deadlines for each of our objectives, milestones and tasks. But no one knows for sure when we’ll cross that line. Sure, some hard core leaders will push their team hard for the goal, but unless they are well loved and great communicators, they’re just as likely to burn out their teams and fail.

What does it really take to set and achieve good goals? I’ll be talking about that next month. Or you can reach out to me and I’ll give you a free preview.

We want to give a shoutout to some good friends who have released news during the past month, in case you missed it. Mortgage Cadence -National MI Integrates with Mortgage Cadence LFC Platform​ CreditXpert -It’s worth giving consumer credit a closer look — here’s why​ CreditXpert -Most Can Raise Their Credit Scores​

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