There’s an oft repeated tale about how certain hunters in Africa catch monkeys. It can be very difficult to corral these intelligent creatures, so hunters have used a more inventive method…trapping a monkey by enticing him. A small jar is placed at the base of a tree with nuts or other items which may attract the monkey’s curiosity.
The opening of the jar allows the monkey to place his hand in, but when he tries to withdraw it, he is unable to do so without letting go of the contents of the jar. Believe it or not, some monkeys will stay there with their hand in the jar until the hunter comes back to trap them! They are trapped because they are unwilling to let go of something they are doing which is working against them.
It’s not just monkeys who get trapped by what we are unwilling to release. While, most of us would not be tempted by peanuts or sweets in a jar, it’s amazing the things we will hang onto rather than release them so we can move on. As a Realtor, I witness this phenomenon all the time. The peanuts are quite conventional; I’ve got to obtain this Price for my house…irregardless of the market or I must have this home even though I can’t really afford the payments. There may be variations on these themes, but in the end they’re still peanuts…unrealistic expectations held on to at the expense of moving forward and achieving our goals & desires.
The real estate process often involves the 3 main components of this story; the Hunter, the Monkey & the Jar of Peanuts. Buyers &
Sellers are the significant players in the real estate process. Sometimes, there is a tendency to behave like the monkey with the hand stuck in the jar for a few peanuts. Instead of drawing back, taking the hand out of the jar to reconsider options and listen to sound counsel, so many get trapped by the peanuts.
Peanuts are the misguided rewards that we think we desperately need. Peanuts are symbolized by the Price that the Property must be worth because so much has been put into improvements. Peanuts talk to the monkey even though they have no audible voice. They convince the monkey that if you hold on to this for long enough, you will get what you want. Peanuts lie! Letting go of false assumptions is what will bring fulfillment to the desire & this can only be done by stopping the action of holding on to those peanuts.
Holding on to an Artificially Inflated Price which the current market cannot support is listening to the Peanuts Lie. Refusing to let go of clutter that serves no useful purpose and is hindering the sale of your home traps the hand in the peanut jar. Looking for the , perfect home, in the perfect neighborhood, with the perfect neighbors at the perfect price etc. ad nauseum ensures that your dream will never become a reality because…I tell you truth…Those peanuts will lie to you & then trap you! Once you move into the perfect neighborhood, you can rest assured, it will no longer be perfect.
The Hunter represents market forces. The market needs players so it offers attractive opportunities. The number of financing vehicles, housing choices & selling tools available to home buyers and home sellers has created many options & provided a diverse variety of peanut jars. The market doesn’t really care which monkey is snared by the contents of the jar. It knows that some monkeys will pass by it’s offers & simply decide that peanuts just aren’t’ an attractive choice on the menu at the moment.
The Hunter also figures that a certain percentage of monkeys will recognize a trap when they see one & won’t fall for the ruse. But, it gambles that enough monkeys will not figure out a very simply solution to the dilemma. Simply, let go of the peanuts, release your hand from the trap, turn the jar upside down & then you can have your peanuts & not get trapped! The monkeys who have their Freedom & Eat Their Peanuts as well are those who realize that sometimes you have to let go of an outdated or incorrect assumption or ideals in order to move forward. Sometimes, the action you take to STOP doing the wrong thing is the most important action you take because it allows you to see more clearly the best solution & option available to you.
Instead of demanding the highest price, simply stop being unrealistic. Instead of taking several jobs to support a lifestyle we cannot afford, simply stop spending more money than you make or sell your house & move to something more affordable. We would be so much further ahead. if we concentrated on simply stopping doing a few of the things that we are doing which impede our progress. Instead of thinking like the monkey who is committed to getting a few peanuts out of a jar at the expense of his life & freedom, we can stop and let go of the peanuts & choose intelligent solutions. This technique works for real estate & for life!
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Grand Rapids Real Estate Musings... 
I got the message 🙂 This story was our assignment in Religion and… Wow. 🙂 I’ll never let my hand stuck inside a jar of peanut butter. 🙂