What do you do if your motivation wanes after a setback in commercial real estate?

Take a step back. Take a deep breath. Examine your priorities and why you got into this "game" to begin with. Don't force yourself to do anything, but be honest about the "costs" you are willing to pay to get where you want to ultimately go!

Acknowledging emotions after setbacks is crucial for maintaining well-being and performance. Expressing feelings in healthy ways, seeking support, and self-reflecting can aid in resilience and moving forward with renewed determination.

When you've been working on a deal for a long time and it doesn't materialize, you can feel that all you efforts were a waste of time. That is your emotions talking. Emotions speak without being asked. You need to get your logical brain involved in order not to lose motivation. For that you need to take a step back and process what happened. This will enable you to review every step of the way with clear head. Rather than come to a one word conclusion, "failure", you will be able to rationally analyze. You can then separate the good the decisions and internalize them, from the mistakes which you will make a mental note never to repeat.

In commercial real estate it is often an aspect of the deal that causes it to go sour rather than the actions of one or more people. It is important to understand anything and everything which may have caused the "setback". When it is a situation such as an appraisal or inspection causing a problem, it's a matter of determine what, if anything, can be done to resolve the matter. Whether it can be resolved or not, you can learn about potential problems for future deals.

Learning from setbacks is essential for growth. Focus on improvement, seek feedback, and turn setbacks into learning opportunities. Embrace a mindset of continuous improvement to propel yourself forward.

The process of analytically breakdown the failure into parts will help you Shinde a light on each piece individually. Some will be great building blocks for the future and some will become warning signs what to avoid. Possibly the greatest benefit of failure, is failure itself. None of us like to fail and that fear motivates too many decisions. Once you fail, your fear of failure diminishes and you can remove a negative emotion for future decision making.

Every opportunity is a learning experience. You get it right and you learn how to do it better. Or you get it wrong and learn how to do it right. You learn regardless. All you have to do is have the right mindset to absorb anything

This is why your approach, as well as your marketing and advertising should be consistent no matter how things are going. I see too many brokers (and others related to deals) thinking that they don't need to spend when times are good, and then wonder where the business went when market conditions changes. "Revisiting" your goals should be considered as "maintaining" them, and the things you do to pursue and achieve them. It's the story about how they still need to put a full tank of gas in the airplane no matter how many passengers are on it.

Revisiting goals in commercial real estate after setbacks is crucial for regaining motivation and clarity. By aligning goals with personal values, reassessing objectives, and consciously reconnecting with purpose, individuals can overcome doubts and regain confidence in their abilities and potential, paving the way for continued success.

As failure can cause so much confusion in our head, the most important thing is to recalibrate. You don't want to move forward with the goal of fixing your mistake or showing everybody that you are not a failure. You want to go back to your original goals and plan how you can achieve them with the new tools your recent experience added to your tool box.

Analyzing and recalibrating after failure is easier said than done. The best and easiest way is to turn to someone you know and trust, who understands the business, to give you an outsider's unbiased assessment of the failure. You need to be open-minded and receptive and not defensive and combative. After all you are searching for the truth and a way forward.

I agree reflecting is digging deal is important. I also believe taking a short break then jumping back in. You need to push through the hard times. There are many up and downs in real estate, you can’t let the downs keep you down.

Stay in contact with prior clients as well as your contacts that are parts of your deals. Keep meeting with lenders, appraisers, inspectors, and landlords. Seek out tenants that might be better off to own their own building instead of leasing. I hear some brokers "complaining" about not finding 'motivated' buyers and sellers while they are not doing things to motivate others.

Maintain a resilient mindset. Easier said than done but it helps to remember that setbacks are part of the journey. You find out just what you can do when you have to get back up again. You can help yourself by constantly keeping up with market trends, industry changes, and new opportunities. Network with other professionals, their support, experiences and ability to hold a mirror up to you can be invaluable. In short ... remember #wegoagain