On this edition of “Keeping it real,” a recurring series on Inman, Peter Lorimer explains the power of just taking a beat before you react.
This is a mantra super close to Lorimer’s heart, as he’s implemented in his daily life for over two decades now. That’s how effective it is. We all experience instances where we are questioning ourselves in terms of what we are doing, where we are going in life and what’s happening with the people around us.
We all get in situations where we become overemotional and our judgment gets a bit clouded. For example: Is my client working with another real estate agent? Or, the person I’m working with on this deal just really pissed me off.
The way to handle any of these situations is simple — just pause. The power of the pause will save you from making big mistakes, possibly ruining relationships and veering off your path.
“We run the risk of eroding relationships if we react too quickly. It’s saying we either don’t trust the person we are dealing with, or we don’t trust ourselves. Both are detrimental to business,” Lorimer said.
Lorimer explains that in the middle of any strategy or implementation of a plan human instincts kick in where we second-guess ourselves, and that is a dangerous place to be when making decisions in business.
With that said, Lorimer instituted “the power of the pause” some years back to handle said situations and help real estate agents to not “react” but to “act” instead.
“We all get in situations where we become overemotional when we get pissed off, and our judgment gets a bit clouded … and the way to handle these instances is to simply pause. Literally.”
Other corresponding rules:
- If it’s a good idea now, it’s still going to feel like a good idea the next morning.
- Sometimes things are time-sensitive, and we don’t have a whole day to sit on it, but we can always take some time. Take an hour to calm down, and then reassess.
Listen to the full podcast to better grasp this tactic Lorimer utilizes, which has helped build his thriving real estate business.
The power of the pause is a life tactic you should adopt. You’ll be stunned at how much second-guessing it will settle within yourself and just how many negative situations it will help you avoid getting yourself into.
Peter Lorimer is the CEO of Beverly Hills, California-based PLG Estates.
