“Sunday Negotiation Insight”
“Never fear exploring the inner thoughts of your mind. You’ll discover a deeper perspective of who you are or can be.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert
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“What if – The Path To Greater Insight”
When you lack the knowledge or you’re unsure of something, to what degree do you ask yourself what if I knew the answer, what might it be?
Anytime you’re confronted with a lack of insight per anything you ponder, pose the question, what if I knew more about it, what would it be? What might it look like? How can I gain more insight from any answer that might come to my mind? To increase the power or this powerful thought process, only pose questions that are positive (e.g. what if I knew how to get better, what might that entail?)
The point is, not until you give up on finding a solution to a question do you stop growing. As long as you keep asking yourself, what if I knew the answer what might it be, you’ll keep your thought process alive; it will continuously attempt to create a solution. Then, ask yourself, what if I knew more than the answer I just came up with, what might it be. You continue that process until you think there’s no more “what if’s” to explore. Even then, you’re likely to come up with one or two more thoughts. All will serve you well. That’s the reason the ‘what if’ question is so powerful. It causes you to think!
The next time you find yourself at a loss per not knowing what to do, why you’re feeling a certain way, what course of action to adopt next, etc., ask yourself what if I knew, what might the answer be. In so doing, you’ll have a thought. Even if you’re not sure what you’re to gain from that thought, don’t stop thinking. If you’re unclear as to the meaning of the thought, ask yourself what if I knew what this meant, what might it mean.
The more you ask yourself ‘what if’ the deeper you’ll probe into the depths of your mind. Doing so will lead you to greater insight. Within those thoughts will be the sense of direction and/or answer you seek. Once you discover it, you’ll be on the path to higher awareness … and everything will be right with the world.
What does this have to do with negotiations?
During a negotiation, there may come a time when you’re not sure of what option to adopt or action to take. When you find yourself in such a position, ask yourself what if I know the right action, what would it be? Posing that question to yourself will allow you to think deeper in your search for guidance. The one thing to remember is not to get frustrated by the lack of an immediate answer to your question. You don’t want to generate stress within yourself; stress is debilitating and will inhibit your thought process. Being in a state of stress is like giving the opposing negotiator assistance in negotiating against yourself.
Remember, you control your mind and your mind controls your thoughts. Thus, if you control what and how you think, you’ll have greater control of the negotiation outcomes that you engage in.
Remember, you’re always negotiating.