A Letter from Chris Suarez
GOING DOWNHILL FAST
I’m up at Whistler Mountain this weekend skiing and snowboarding with the family. I’m in a phase right now where I enjoy watching my kids snowboard more than I enjoy actually snowboarding. At this point I’m happy to fill the role of gear carrier, lesson scheduler, chauffeur, and overall pack mule. I’m good with that. I signed up for this, and a promise is a promise. It also gives my wife some time to ski runs that she otherwise couldn’t with kids, and she loves to ski. I left my snowboard behind this trip and decided I would try to ski for the first time in my life. I’m sure there is blogpost in there somewhere, but I have found that trying new things and being humbled at my age is incredibly healthy.
As I watched how long it took the kids to get to the top of the mountain and then how quickly they got to the bottom of the hill, I couldn’t help but think of something I had read earlier in the week. Referring to the current real estate market, Stefan Swanepoel in his recent blog post wrote, “The ride down is faster than the path upward…” I’ve always found Stefan insightful, and this statement particularly stuck with me.
The run up in the market happened over a decade. It may have felt frenzied, but the ride up was pretty consistent and predictive. We were going uphill so we had the time to make adjustments, change directions, understand the market. We were able to pause, catch our breath, and then keep plodding upward. There wasn’t fear while going up. We may have been surprised, but there wasn’t much shock.
At some point upward always turns downward. The chair lift only goes so far.
Where did we think we were headed as we continued upwards over the last decade? At the top of the mountain, you gather up your poles, your gloves, your goggles, you hop off the chair life, and prepare for the real ride down.
Remember the ride down is always faster than the way up. It is that speed which brings with it a bit of fear and anxiousness. Going downhill quickly, for some, is very scary. It is the combination of velocity and directional change. Our market has both of these things right now, so be ready.
For those unskilled going downhill, you lose your ability to pause, to react, to catch your breath, or to employ strategy. It will feel like barreling down the mountain without any control, without a way to slow or stop. But with the right equipment, the right training or coaching, with hours of practice up front, you can navigate that downhill like a pro. Where in your career are you gaining that training and practice? Who have you decided is your coach or guide? In no time, you’ll begin to appreciate the changes in direction and terrain. And because we -or those around us- have been here before, or prepared for this, we know where the bottom is.
It is this experience or preparation that eliminates the fear. After all, if we always skied down the same mountain, at the same pace, following the same straight line, we would lose interest quickly. Regardless of the hill in front of us, if we are prepared, have the right gear, and have the right guide, we will make it down the mountain and be just fine.
Many of us may feel like we went to bed one night and woke up in a very different market. For others, it didn’t happen that way at all. We were watching the changing temperature. We were observing the changing winds. We were preparing well in advance for what we might experience once we got off the chair lift at the top of the mountain. The ride down is faster than the way up.
Skiing down Whistler can either be ridiculously exciting or straight up terrifying. I choose exciting.
Grab your skis and boards. And don’t worry, we’ll be at the bottom in no time.
Chris