Using Stress to Your Advantage

Stress can be a great motivator for you to reach your goals.

By MOLLIE WITT, CAM, CAPS, Venterra Realty

We live and work in a world where stress is inevitable. And in property management, stress is part of our daily lives in. We work in an atmosphere that has very high stakes for our residents. The conversations we have and the problems that enter our offices are often some of the most stressful moments in our resident’ lives – and that stress is naturally absorbed by us.

While we usually try and avoid additional stressors, we fail to recognize that stress can be an ally.

Professor Modupe Akinola, a stress researcher at the Columbia Business School, visited Good Morning America and explained how stress is not always bad – it is our bodies’ way of preparing for action. She explains that when we have the right mindset about stress, we can make it work for us and not against us.

Change your mindset when it comes to stress.

Our first reaction is to avoid stress, and we tend to stress out more when we realize that we are stressing. I know that I am super guilty of this. Well, by understanding and acknowledging that the physical manifestation of stress is preparing your body for action can make it so much easier. When you’re stressed, you’re more alert and more able to make clearer decisions. That is how our body helps us to work through what we need to work through.

In order to change your mindset, the easiest thing we can do is be self-aware. Professor Akinola actually cited that when students shifted their mindset pertaining to the stress, they actually performed better on their tests when they acknowledged that the stress was the body’s reaction to prepare them.

How do we put this into practice?

1. Acknowledge it. Do not deny it! Acknowledge your stress and know that it is okay.

2. Find out what it is that is causing you to stress. Identify the cause of your stressor and accept that you are stressing about this because it is important to you.

3. Recall other times you have been stressed and performed at your best. Think back to something important that happened in your life where you came out on top. Were you stressed before a final in school? What about for your job interview with Venterra? Think about a time that stress has yielded a positive result in your life. Mentally acknowledge this and channel it into your current stress.

So how can we apply that in our industry? Well, suppose that today is the day late notices are going out. You find yourself feeling a little tense in the morning before work. Instead of focusing on your tense shoulders and mentally accepting that the today is just going to be one of those days, try recognizing the tenseness as your body’s way of keeping you ready to go. Notice that your mind is likely more alert this morning and use that to your advantage. Instead of surrendering to having “one of those days,” use the momentum to get through the notices, but then also accomplish some of the low-hanging fruit on your to-do list with that increased mental sharpness. Or maybe use that tenseness as an opportunity to do something physical to work it out. This is a great opportunity to move around the mini model or take care of some things around the office that you may have been putting off. Only, don’t forget about workplace safety, as not following safety guidelines can lead to injury, and that is a different kind of stress all together.

A great way to take that stress of past-duerent day and really level up the customer service at your community is to find ways to help our residents in these moments. Instead of thinking about past due notices leading to eviction, think about past due notices as something that leads to a conversation with our residents. When we are having this conversation, this may be an opportunity to offer contact information for charitable organizations specializing in rental assistance to help get them back on their feet. This may be an opportunity to connect them with other public assistance programs that will help them get back on track. When we do not use the stress to our advantage, we completely miss the different opportunities and different spins that we can put on the situation. We are in this industry to help people, but when we are focusing on stress as a negative, we often overlook the simple ways that we can help those around us.

Once you work through the situation that caused the stress, take a moment to relax and reflect. Consider what the stressor was, acknowledge the physical and mental symptoms, and then acknowledge how much you were able to accomplish because of working through the stress. In your calm moment, take a moment to show gratitude for the situation. The more you are able to mentally tie stress to gratitude, the easier it is to make the connections going forward.

When those connections are made and we are comfortable using stress to our advantage, some real magic can happen in your community as a whole, with your relationships with your residents, your relationship with your team, and your life in general!

Mollie Witt, CAM, CAPS, is an employee experience manager for Venterra Realty. Mollie has been with Venterra Realty for 12 years, where she started onsite before working her way up as a trainer. Mollie has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston in human resources management and personnel administration.