Dear Friend,
Fear can do two things. It can either paralyze us or stop us in our tracks. Or, it can be the catalyst that takes us to places we never even dreamed of.
I think we all deal with fears in one way or another. In the weeks leading up to our trip to Portugal to visit my in-laws, our youngest shared with my husband and me her anxiety about flying. Prior to the pandemic, we flew every summer and she was always very excited about getting on an airplane. From talking with her, we learned that she was afraid of flying during thunderstorms, and we had several nights of heavy rain with thunder and lightning in the weeks leading up to our trip. I completely empathized with her, validated her concerns, and assured her that the pilot would not take off in stormy weather. The more specific information we knew about her fear of flying, the more specific my husband and I could be in our approach to helping her. By talking with her, we empowered her to overcome her fear.
In fact, while traveling, my family and I came face to face with fear recently. We were on an excursion with a guide who led us through an experience called coasteering. The easiest way to explain this excursion is by cutting and pasting the definition here: Coasteering is an exhilarating, physical adventure activity, including the perfect blend of sea level traversing, rock scrambling, cliff jumping, and swimming, and it is the best way to experience the spectacular coastline and amazing wildlife up close and natural. I did not mind traversing, rock scrambling, or swimming. It's the cliff jumping I had a problem with.
When this activity was presented to us, I was sure one of our children would say no; however, they were all so excited and could not wait for the day to arrive. I did not want to show my fear and in turn, make my children afraid as well, so I did not say a word and hoped for a thunderstorm.
On the day of our excursion, we met our wonderful and adventurous guide who helped calm my nerves. He spent quite a bit of time teaching us how to safely jump, where to place our arms, how to bring our feet together to make a pencil as we got closer to the water -- his instructions were detailed, as were his warnings. However, because I had this knowledge and knew we were in very capable hands, I did not feel nearly as afraid as I did at the start of our drive to the coastline that morning.
We started by jumping off "small cliffs." Not too high and not too far. Those jumps were manageable and they helped boost my confidence! I was not fully over my fear as the jumps got progressively higher; however, thanks to our wonderful instructor prepared us well by telling us exactly what we could expect and exactly what we should do to make the jump enjoyable and safe when it came time for my final jump I was able to jump off and actually enjoy it! It was exhilarating! By talking with me, educating me, and validating my concerns, my guide empowered me to overcome my fear.
Over the past 15 months, especially, I’ve heard from many of my buyers who have a different set of fears. They want to make smart decisions. They don’t want to feel rushed. They don’t want to overpay. They know what they want, but they aren’t sure if they’re doing all the right things to get there. I’m thrilled that so many have trusted me to be their guide.
Bottom line? I’m not a professional rock jumper! But I listened to my guides and they were able to calm my fears by educating me and helping me get into the right mindset. And, I listened, so that I could move past my fear and hit my goal. I can do the same for you. Because at the end of the day, having a professional guide to managing the real estate transaction leaves you to do the most important thing. Make the jump.
With gratitude,
Dana
