Books have been written about the art of negotiation. The art of the deal. People like Donald Trump have written these books. The subject matter is business. Or real estate. Or cars. Things that do not have a clear value. The books, and the experts, argue that we need to understand the art of negotiation to get the best value. To do better than the other guy. To win. And most people don't know how to negotiate well. Hence all these books.
I think they've got it all wrong. People know how to negotiate. We all do it every day. Who gets the last cookie? Who has to change the water bottle on the company water cooler?
And that's only the negotiation with other people in our everyday lives.
Honestly, I'm pretty good at negotiation in my everyday life. I think it's because I know who I am. I know my strengths and weaknesses. So I know what I need from other people. And I know what I can do. At least most of the time.
Then there's the negotiation we do with ourselves. If I eat that last cookie, how much farther do I have to run? If I don't go to the gym today, can I make it up tomorrow? Can I make it up by not eating as much tomorrow? If I'm good at negotiating with others in my everyday life, I'm perfect at negotiating with myself. It's not always good for myself, but I do have a perfect record in every negotiation.
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