Q. With rising interest rates, policy changes, and a quieter market, I’m finding myself worrying about the future more than ever. Some days it feels like I’m spending more time thinking about where my next deal will come from than actually finding it. How do I stop the anxiety taking over?
The hardest part about uncertainty isn’t that we don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s that our brains desperately want an answer.
So, when the future feels unclear, your mind naturally starts filling in the blanks. Unfortunately, it has a negativity bias, so those blanks often become along the lines of worst case scenario: “What if I can’t pay my staff?”, “What if the pipeline dries up?”, or “What if I’ve built a business that can’t survive this?”
Those thoughts feel like planning, but they’re usually just worry wearing a very convincing disguise.
One question I often ask clients is this: is there a problem to solve today, or is this a problem your anxious brain is borrowing from tomorrow?
If it’s today’s problem, absolutely get to work. Make the calls. Review your referral strategy. Reach out to clients. Update your marketing. Action creates momentum.
If it’s tomorrow’s problem, acknowledge it, then gently bring yourself back to what you can influence right now.
Uncertainty has always been part of business. Markets change. Lending policies change. Economies change. The brokers who navigate these periods best aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest pipelines – they’re the ones who refuse to let fear become their business strategy.
Focus on what you can control today. While none of us can predict where the market will be in six months, we can choose what we do in the next hour. And more often than not, that’s where confidence starts to return.
If you have a question that you’d like answered by psychotherapist Bronwyn Penhaligon in the Your Health in Mind section of The Adviser, you can email your question in confidence to [email protected].
Or if you feel you need more support, you can visit penhaligons.com.au to schedule a one-on-one appointment.
