Going back to school … sort of

In January my boss suggested I should get my real estate broker’s license and offered to pay for the the education hours (168 in the state of Colorado). Although I have mostly just worked for his boat and RV storage company, my boss is actually a commercial real state broker who mainly does commercial real estate development, so it isn’t a complete stretch to move into the real estate side of things.

Anyway … I started the classes thinking I would breeze through them. Then the reality of 168 hours started to sink in. There was a lot that I already knew – but enough new material that I began to think maybe I was actually going to have to study! The further I got into the course the more it started to feel like I was back in school (shocking realization, I know!) In the end, there was no “breezing” through the work. Just like everything else, I had to work at acquiring new knowledge. Real world experience assisting in real estate transactions helped cement the practical side of the stuff I was learning.

I’ve always thought of myself as good at self directed learning – but having to engage in more formal learning again made me feel surprisingly insecure. I was a good student back in my formal education years and suddenly I wondered if that wasn’t part of who I was anymore. Who knew getting my license would throw me out of my comfort zone??

This year as I have made the transition to full time work, I’ve had this unsettling “move out of your comfort zone” experience over and over. I’ve had to learn more than I ever wanted to about working with planning departments and figuring out requirements and getting the correct permits and badgering companies for plans. I’ve sent out more emails that make it totally obvious I have no idea what I’m doing – yet people have been patient and I have learned.

I suppose it is good practice for doing the same in my personal life. After 25 years of full-time motherhood, my youngest is preparing to “leave the nest” and I’m going to be figuring out what the next phase of my life is going to look like. Doing it as a single person adds another layer of uncertainty to the process. I can’t say I like being out of my comfort zone, but at least the past six months have taught me that I can survive and maybe even thrive during the process.

PS – I passed.