Posts Tagged ‘wisdom’

It is a sunny Friday afternoon and I thought I would take a quick departure from talking about the nuts and bolts of buying a home in Seattle for a single post and share with you a fantastic piece of wisdom that was given to me today. 

I, much like you hope to be, am in the process of moving.  As such, I am going through all that I own.  I am to the point of dividing up my stuff into, garbage, charity and save piles.  I have made 4 trips in the past several days to various charitable organizations.  Today I was in a rush.  I have been carting around one box in particular for over a day in the back of my car.  After an inspection this morning I rushed to grab some food and noticed a donation center.  After I got my “nutrition” I headed over to drop of the box. 

I must have seemed like I was in a tremendous hurry (which I was).  A kindly elderly gentleman took my box and asked if I was moving.  I was not expecting the question and temporarily struggled to find the patience to answer, but did manage to let him know that I was in fact moving.  He handed me back my box and I thanked him and turned to jump back in my car.  My mind began to race with all the things I had to get done before showing homes that evening.  I would have completely forgotten the entire incident in seconds if it had not been for what happened next. 

From the direction of the old man, I heard “HEY!”  I was surprised and turned around.  The many waved me back.   My first thought was, “Oh what now.  All I want to do is go back to my office and get some things done.”   As if he wanted to whisper something secret in my ear he waved me close to him and said,

“Moving is stressful.  Be sure and take some time for yourself.  Always remember that the things you are moving are not nearly as important as YOU are.”

As I got back in my car it occurred to me how often I miss this simple points with my clients.  The stress I am going trough is probably small  compared to theirs.  After all I have no kids, pets and very few possessions comparatively.   I am intimately aware of the ins and outs of moving.  How often have I glossed over their stress.  I admit I narrowly focus on the details of every transaction at the expense of my clients emotional needs. 

It is funny how wisdom often finds us from the strangest places.  I don’t think I will ever forget the kind men who offered me a simple phrase he has probably shared hundreds of time.  I also hope I never forget the importance of what he had to say.  Most importantly I hope I can remember that supporting a client’s emotional needs is just as important as overseeing the transactional details. 

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