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A wellness coach has pushed leaders in the real estate sector to normalise conversations around mental health and set an example by caring for their own mental health.
Having worked with many agents and others in the real estate sector, accredited mindfulness and meditation coach and founder and director of EQ Minds Chelsea Pottenger has encouraged agents to change the narrative around the “rise and grind” mentality without allocating time for rest and recuperation and sufficient sleep.
“We need practical things to be able to recharge our biggest powerhouse, which is our brain,” Ms Pottenger told REB.
“Otherwise, what you’ll find is, not only will you burn out, but your performance will suffer too. This doesn’t just affect you directly, it impacts the people around you, including the people you love.”
Changing workplace culture and the rise and grind narrative would require business owners and chief executives to lead by example by initiating and normalising conversations around mental health, and prioritising self-care, Ms Pottenger said.
“If your CEO or leader is prioritising their own mental health, it reminds the team that we can’t pour from an empty cup,” she argued.
“Your family, friends, and staff deserve and need the best version of you. If you’re run down and depleted, you can’t be the best version of yourself.
“When we run our wellbeing workshops for large corporate companies, an executive will turn up to the session to introduce it and they’ll stay on. This shows everyone else that they’re taking an hour out of their day to pause and equip themselves with the tools to boost their mental health, physical health, or their gut health. This shows employees that they can pause too.”
Acknowledging the difficulty in changing one’s habits, Ms Pottenger encouraged agents to practice discipline and incorporate new “bite-size” habits to improve their wellbeing.
For example, agents could tweak their morning routine by meditating for five or 10 minutes and deep breathing for 90 seconds instead of first reaching for their phones or other devices.
Ms Pottenger also underscored the importance of sleep to recharge the brain and build the foundation for a productive day the following day.
Deep sleep is crucial to ensure that the body’s system and brain waves can slow and relax, which ensures that glucose metabolism in the brain increases, thus supporting short-term and long-term memory and overall learning, as well as energy restoration and increased blood supply to muscles.
“One of the big things that I see with high-performing real estate agents or people in other industries is that a lot of the time, we don’t honour the sleep,” she said.
“If you don’t get your sleep, you’ll be starting behind the eight ball the next day. It’s a good quality hack to get really good rest and set yourself up for the next day.”
Embedding these small changes and practising them consistently could prevent burnout and bolster the mental health of agents without upending their routine.
“You don’t have to do everything,” Ms Pottenger said.
“I actually don’t want you or expect you to do everything that I talk about because I don’t want to add to the anxiety. That would be counterintuitive to the purpose of wellness and promoting good mental health.”
If you want to hear more from Chelsea Pottenger about how to boost your mental health and wellbeing and avoid burnout, join us in Sydney at REB REInnovate 2022 in March for a full day of professional development and team building to prepare you for the year ahead. Network with your peers, industry experts, and thought leaders in person to exchange ideas, and walk away with tangible tools and strategies to future proof your business.
Use the code TOPOFFICES to secure five tickets for you and your team and save $150 off the price to secure a special deal for your team!
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