Perception is reality. This is a very simple, fundamental, and true phrase. I believe most people don’t give this phrase enough credit. The way successes and obstacles are viewed change the dynamic of how you handle them, how they are compartmentalized and remembered, and how they contribute to building a successful or unsuccessful future. Every obstacle is an opportunity to assess your own mental strength, persistence, consistency, and ability. But is that how you view it?
I have been forced to think a lot, lately, about the concept of punishment versus challenge, and if there is actually a difference between them. My conclusion is that the difference is merely perception. How do you perceive conflict, problems, discrepancies, pressure? Are these punishments or challenges? Some people thrive under pressure. This is how they do their best work; this is how they flourish. Sometimes these same people can’t perform as well without pressure or a crunch of some kind. It’s as if they feed off of the adrenaline. I’m not saying this is the sort of person we should strive to be, but it would be a huge benefit if, when you are facing a certain struggle or obstacle, you could not only function, but excel instead of crumbling, freezing, or shutting down.
Some of these attributes are characteristics, but a lot of them have to do with your outlook on situations. If you take something that could be perceived as negative and make it constructive, your ability to process it and your interest in overcoming it or figuring it out is enhanced. Most of the time people don’t want to focus on their “problems” because they are negative, could potentially make them look bad, and could expose flaws or weaknesses. However, if you don’t think of the issue as a problem but instead as the gateway to a solution, your interest and intention to address the issue is heightened. Perceiving the obstacle as a challenge has a built-in component of action, a punishment does not. A punishment is something overbearing that is happening TO you, whereas a challenge is something for you to accomplish or overcome. Think of the times you have heard “I have a challenge for you” versus “If you do this you will be punished”. You can see the vast difference between the intentions of these two words when presented this way.
Our culture and society these days is focused on “oh, woe is me.” This is a very reactionary and unproductive mental space in which people CHOOSE to exist. It is very passive and has no room for vitality, constructive action, or growth. Things are just always happening to you. Someone with this mindset cannot get past the events that continue to occur and play out in their life, and in turn allow their life to control them. Where is the person who takes lemons and makes lemonade? Where is the person who looks at the last quarter of the year as an opportunity to make up for how terrible the first three were? Where is the person who hears 453 “no’s”, but has the resilience to believe that the 454th answer is the one that will change the course of their life? Where is the person who rises up and turns a firm “no” into a “yes”? Where is the person who thinks outside of the box— who takes control of their own destiny, and then shatters and exceeds their own expectations? These are the people I want to work with! These are the people I want to invest my time and energy in. These are the people who are infectious, successful, and almost always rise to the top of the industry!
This can be you, but is it? Are your current obstacles the end or just the beginning? Are they weighing you down or lifting you up? Are you hiding from them, or embracing and conquering them? Do you have a plan? Are you implementing it? Are you finding yourself daydreaming about new, innovative ideas you can implement? Do you force your disappointments and obstacles to lead to a greater and more confident you? Are you your own greatest cheerleader or worst critic?
Whatever your current state-of-being is, remember another important phrase: mind over matter. You always have the opportunity to change the course of your own destiny. You are not stuck where you are, you’re merely in a transitional zone – it’s just a matter of what you are transitioning to. You have the potential, are you embracing it? Do not let your flaws, faults, or past mistakes define you— let them propel you, and force you to realize your full potential. That’s the sort of agent I want to invest in. That’s the sort of agent our clients want to invest in. Only you can determine the way you view your life and consequently only you can control how and where it is going. But I want to be a part of your success. I want you to shatter the glass ceilings of your expectations, and be the agent that we all know you can be. Turn your punishments into challenges, and those challenges into the stepping stones which lead you to success. There is no one standing in your way. Your path is stretched out in front of you – all you have to do is step out in confidence. I have faith in you all.
After working with, and for, many different real estate firms, it became apparent to Harout that there was a major disconnect between what consumers needed/wanted and the service that was being provided to them. It was upon this realization that Harout founded and opened JohnHart Real Estate; and as the CEO/Principal Broker he has continued to break from the norm and redefine real estate with an insatiable appetite to give his clients the service and attention they deserve.
Excellent article
reads well. your pic i would like to repost