Negotiation is a Part of All Our Lives

Negotiation is something we do all the time.

We negotiate when we’re toddlers, throwing a tantrum to get our way, and we negotiate when we consider medical intervention at the end of life. We negotiate with our children, parents, in-laws, employees, neighbors, bosses, health care providers, and everyone in between. We negotiate with our selves all the time. Ideally, we become better at negotiation as our life goes on and feel more comfortable engaging in it. Ideally, we come to understand that negotiation plays a role in almost everything we do, and that it’s intensely personal.

When you have a conversation with competing parts of yourself, that is negotiation. When your kid doesn’t want to go to sleep at bedtime, that is negotiation. When you want your dog to come in but he wants to stay outside, that is negotiation. When you are on the fence about taking a new job and make a list of pros and cons, that is negotiation—before you’ve even begun to talk about salary. Negotiation is the platform for us to find our voice. Negotiation is decision-making, communication, and critical thinking. It’s life, and the more comfortable we become engaging in the conversation, the more confident we become in our skills, the more we value ourselves, and the more satisfied we become.

Negotiations are the soundtrack to our lives. Negotiation is life!