The Thing About Experience
There’s a strange thing about experience. It teaches you lessons, but most of the time, you only fully understand those lessons after the moment has already passed.
Maybe it’s that conversation you should’ve handled differently, the deal that didn’t sit quite right from the start, that follow-up you knew you needed to make, but didn’t prioritise.
And then later, sometimes much later, it hits you. That gut feeling kicks in and you think: “Far out… I’ve seen this before”.
Not once, not twice, multiple times. Same pattern, different packaging.
The repetition we don’t always respect
Here’s the reality that tends to get missed. Experience isn’t a one-off lesson. It’s a cycle.
The same situations keep showing up, just disguised in new people, new timing, new circumstances, but underneath it, the pattern is familiar.
First time, you don’t know, second time, you recognise it, third time… you definitely know, and sometimes still go the same way anyway.
That’s the one that stings. Because at that point, it’s not about awareness anymore, it’s about choice, and choice is where regret starts to form.
Real estate makes it obvious
This plays out clearly in real estate every single day. There are so many opportunities to gain experience and then put it to good use.
Maybe it’s the anniversary call that gets delayed… then you notice their property is listed with someone else.
You knew it mattered. You knew the timing was right, but it didn’t get done in time.
Or maybe it’s the conversation that starts to drift away from professionalism. A comment made too quickly, a tone that’s slightly off, a moment where internally you think: “Probably shouldn’t say that…”
But it comes out anyway, and in the back of your mind, you already know how it’s likely to land later, not because you haven’t seen it before, but because you have.
That’s experience trying to speak up.
When knowing isn’t the problem
The interesting shift here is this: Most of the time, people do know better.
The issue isn’t a lack of understanding, it’s not a lack of exposure or training or feedback, it’s what happens in the moment.
We default to what’s comfortable, what’s familiar, what’s easier than slowing down, thinking, and choosing differently, even when every past version of experience is quietly telling us: “This pattern doesn’t end well.”
But comfort is powerful, familiar behaviour feels safe, even when it’s not effective, so we repeat it.
The moment experience tries to help you
There’s usually a small signal before things go off track; a hesitation, a pause, a feeling that something is slightly off in how a conversation is unfolding or how a decision is being made.
That moment often gets ignored or overridden, but that’s actually the point where experience is trying to step in.
It’s not doubt. It’s recognition. And learning to pause long enough to listen to that signal changes outcomes more than any script or system ever will.
Turning awareness into action
This week, the shift is simple. It’s not complicated or theoretical. It just focuses on more awareness in real time.
When that hesitation shows up, don’t rush past it. Notice it, question it, give it a second before reacting, because that’s where the gap is closed - not in hindsight, but in the moment itself.
The goal isn’t to eliminate mistakes entirely. That’s unrealistic.
The goal is to reduce the number of times the same mistake gets repeated when the warning signs were already there.
Final thought
Experience isn’t just what you’ve lived through. It’s what you recognise before it happens again.
The more you respect that, the less you end up saying: “I’ve seen this before…” after it’s already too late.
About the Author
Manos Findikakis is the CEO of Agents’Agency, Australia’s first multi-brand real estate network, ‘the only fully integrated solution for you and your people to create an unforgettable experience.’
For all enquiries and more information on how the Agents’Agency can help you take your career to the next level, click here to get in touch.
