I know firsthand how stress can feel like it can’t be avoided when you work in the mortgage industry. We can be constantly on the move when we’re building our book of business; but without some strategies in place to handle stress, all that hustle can be doing us more harm than good. While it may seem that stress is just a byproduct of hard work, it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are a few of the ways that stress negatively impacts your performance:

Your Productivity

Stress has proven mental and physical repercussions; and when stress becomes a constant, it takes a real toll on our energy level and ability to focus. When we’re sluggish, we can’t do our best work. Quality and efficiency will certainly suffer. Our ability to focus tends to decline as stress increases. This can cause us to take longer than necessary to complete even simple tasks, because we can’t concentrate properly. For your business to grow, you need to maintain high-level productivity. You need to make the most of your time, so you can’t get the most done in the least amount of time. The only way to do that is to keep stress at a minimum.

Your Attitude

Stress also impacts our attitude. When we’re stressed out, the way we view our work can be altered. Instead of being driven by a sense of purpose, we can feel overwhelmed — any additional work or new challenge can feel crushing. Our best work undoubtedly comes when we’re feeling inspired and positive, and that’s impossible when we’re laboring under stress. Finding ways to alleviate stress will help us preserve the healthy mindsets we need.

Your Motivation

This may seem counter to what I’m writing about, but stress isn’t entirely negative. When we’re in control and ensure that periods of higher stress are short lived, it can be a source of motivation for some of us. If you need an extra burst of energy to meet a deadline, for instance, stress can be very helpful. But it’s only true if we’re only stressed out occasionally. We need strategies to reset and decompress if we want to use stress as an incentive from time to time. More on regaining and maintaining motivation, here.

Stress doesn’t have to present in your day to day. If you find that it is, then it’s time to incorporate some techniques for minimizing it. That may take some experimentation, and it’s going to be a little different for each of us, but finding a balance is entirely possible.

Good luck and let me know if any of this has been helpful for you!

Don

If you’re a loan officer, sales manager, or branch manager considering new opportunities, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Don Riggs
P: 303-249-8274