We don’t negotiate with terrorists

You think you’re a bad negotiator? 

Is that because your client talked your rates down? Is it because your manager denied the raise you were asking for? Maybe because the oil change mechanic upsold you on a new air filter? 

Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. 

Good news: your mind is a master negotiator.

The bad news? It’s only good at negotiating with you. 

You know what I’m talking about. You know the crafty promises it makes, when it convinces you to stay in bed for “just a few more minutes.” You know the courtroom defense it presents, when it vindicates you from hard work because “you were just dealt a bad hand.” You’ve seen the deals it makes, trading long-term dreams for the short-term sure thing. 

The mind is master negotiator, and it always negotiates for the path of least resistance. 

Over time, the will can weaken under the mind’s oppressive boot. The will loses faith in itself. It loses confidence. Eventually, the will freely presents its wrists to the mind’s velvet handcuffs, comfortably watching its dreams drift away. 

Leveraging the will against the mind is the only way out from under its oppression. Leveraging the will in the right way can trick the crafty mind into negotiating against itself. It’s the only way to free the will, and discover those dreams, big or small. 

Here’s how it works: identify a task you want to accomplish. Place a reward on the other side of that task. Make a promise to rest only after the task is complete. Do not allow the mind to negotiate. We don’t negotiate with terrorists. This is how you get the mind to negotiate against itself. 

The mind seeks the path of least resistance, right? 

So when the will is strong enough to not let the mind rest until it has accomplished the task, then the mind begins to work for the will. The mind kicks and screams at first, sure. It reminds you of the comfort it had moments ago, and could have again at any moment. The first few days are painful. But if the will refuses to negotiate with the mind, and only allows it reward and rest after the task is complete…then the mind starts working alongside the will. 

If the mind learns that the quickest path and the only path to rest now lies on the other side of the task, it will try to achieve that as quickly as possible. The mind will generate ideas—good ones—seemingly out of nowhere to complete the task as fast as it can. Your mind will bend the very fabric of creativity, pulling rabbits out of hats to complete the task. It will focus like a laser, burning holes through its obstacles, to complete the task. 

This is how the will drives the mind. This is how you achieve dreams. This is how anything good that you’ve ever enjoyed, got made. This is how it happens. 

Are you still negotiating with a terrorist?