Feeling stuck is rarely about how much you have to do. It’s usually about where you stopped. Maybe it’s a conversation you’ve been meaning to have, an ask you never made, or a decision you’ve been postponing because putting it off feels easier than deciding. At its core, that’s a negotiation with yourself.

You can be your own worst enemy in negotiation because of the stories you tell yourself. More often than not, those stories sell you short. You carry a threshold for how much success you believe you deserve, and the world didn’t set it. You did. An opportunity appears and you hesitate. You tell yourself you’re being realistic, humble, or fair. Over time, those beliefs become the limits you place on yourself.

This isn’t a failure of skill. When you don’t believe in your worth, you don’t recognize your power. Without recognizing your power, it’s difficult to understand your leverage or negotiate to your full potential.