Did you know that being happy increases a sales person’s production by 37%? That’s what the research says from the Harvard Business Review. Imagine, increasing your sales by 37%, just by being happy?

How do you become happier?

Real estate is a very stressful business! I’ve got three steps you can take to increase your level of happiness and give your productivity a boost, even on a stressful day.

STEP 1: Make a list of the things that make you unhappy.

It may seem obvious, but the best route to being happy is to stop doing the things that make you unhappy!

Start a list. Keep it simple and personal. What do I mean? Don’t write big long stories about what other people do that makes you unhappy. This list about you, and you need to put it in language a five-year-old can understand. That keeps us honest with ourselves and keeps us from getting caught up in the story.

Here’s an example: I could have a story about a client who always shows up late for our appointments. I waste a lot of time waiting, then we get behind, and I feel rushed, because we’re late for all of our appointments. That makes me unhappy. Without the story, what is makes me unhappy? I’m a punctual person with a client who is always late. Simple. Now I’ve got something to work with.

As for keeping it personal, we have to focus on ourselves. Human nature causes us to blame others. We’ll think, “If they were punctual, I would be happy.” Simple. Right? Wrong. The problem is, you can’t change anyone else. When we make our happiness contingent, or reliant, on someone else doing something different, we’re bound to lose.

The empowering way to approach this is to look at yourself: “I’m a punctual person with a habitually late client.”

That takes us to the second way to increase our happiness.

STEP 2: Find way to bag, better or barter (I call them the three-Bs) the things that make you unhappy.

Take your list of things that make you unhappy and apply the three Bs. Using my example of the habitually late client, what could I do? I could bag them. Seriously. If it really makes me crazy, I can refer them to an equally habitually late colleague and take a referral fee. Using my time and energy to get another client more suited to my work style. In this example, bartering is similar to my bagging it solution, so let’s look at bettering the situation.

If I know my client’s going to be late, it’s better to simply accept that. What can I do to make it better? Listen to motivational videos while I wait. I could add extra time to my showing schedule, so we aren’t late for all the showings. That will help me feel more relaxed and happier.

STEP 3: Create mood-shifting cues in your environment.

I call them, “Happiness cues.” Put a picture of the next vacation you want to take, a beach scene that makes you happy, or a picture of the new car you want to buy. Have music that is quick and easy to access, cue up some inspirational videos in YouTube, anything to give you a quick pick-me-up when something irritates you or stresses you out. Take a deep breath and focus on your “happiness cue.” It may not change the stressful situation, but it will give you a better mindset for solving the problem, figuring out how to apply one of the three Bs, or simple powering through it.

Life is stressful. That’s not the issue. The issue is how long it takes us to recover from stressful situations and how much additional stress we create for ourselves in the process. Try using these mindset tools and practical ways to shift or change how stressful a situation is.  Let me know how it worked. Were you able to add more moments of happiness to your day?

Like Brenda Florida’s articles? Well, she’s got lots of ideas to help you succeed in real estate! Brenda has created an “Epic Career Growth” coaching program just for Agent Inner Circle members –  visit her website here to learn more about it: https://www.brendaflorida.com/agentinnercircle/