I discovered a word bountiful during a Kundalini breathwork practice… and I loved it! I had never really considered myself bountiful, but here I am, telling you that you are as well – Bountiful and that you should and can negotiate daily, because our life is all about negotiating.
Consider a typical morning: You might negotiate with yourself about hitting the snooze button on your alarm?
Is ten more minutes of sleep worth the rush later? This internal negotiation, balancing desire against responsibility, sets the tone for your day.
Do I really negotiate?
From the moment we wake up to the time we go to bed, we are constantly negotiating, not just in the conventional sense of business deals or formal agreements, but in every aspect of our interactions and decision-making processes.
Negotiations extend into our personal and professional relationships as well.
Check my personal favorite must read: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.
Because negotiation manifests in compromises we make with family members, roommates, coleagues, kids, like deciding who does which project, chores or what to have for dinner. Each of these decisions involves give and take, understanding the other’s perspective, and reaching a consensus that works for all involved.
Negotiation is an integral part of our daily lives, often unfolding in ways we hardly notice.
In the workplace, negotiation isn’t limited to salary discussions or project proposals. It’s in the everyday interactions with colleagues and superiors. It could be negotiating a deadline, deciding on a meeting time, or even navigating office dynamics.
Even in your social life, you do negotiate. I choose how to spend my free time, often balancing my preferences with those of my family and friends. Planning a night out or a holiday, involves negotiating locations, activities and budgets.
What’s fascinating is how these everyday negotiations shape our lives.
Negotiation develops our skills in persuasion, empathy, decision-making and teaches us about compromise and the art of finding a middle ground where different needs and wants intersect.
This is how I like to see it: life itself is a series of small or bigger negotiations. That approach empowers us to embrace these situations more consciously (not being people pleaser, for example.)
In essence, seeing life as a series of negotiation is all about recognizing opportunities for IMPROVEMENT and GROWTH in your daily interactions, but not at other people’s expense! Sure, I can’t negotiate a ticket price of the bus, but it’s not about “negotiating” anything and everything.
It’s also about your persective of self! Do you perceive it like that?
Once you embrace this perspective, You can make easier decisions, build stronger relationships and lead more balanced and fulfillng life. Because I see people around me, who do not Feel entitled to ask, express, demand!
If you live in a free society – that should be a norm!
And this is where also BREATHING kicks in, of course:-)
Incorporating simple breathing practices to your life, trains your autonomic nervous system to respond more effectively to your environment, making any process less stressful and more manageable.
Add Emotional Intelligence to the negotiation game.
Negotiation skills are so closely tied to emotional intelligence, which involves being aware of controlling and expressing one’s emotions thoughtfully and empathetically therefore better managing our own stress.
That doesn’t imply we have to sugarcoat our words all the time! Actually, the older I get, the more direct I become.
Recognize and embrace your own bountiful-abundant nature and you will feel empowered in these subtle daily negotiations, allowing you to approach life’s challenges in a lighter manner.
This perspective will impact how you ENGAGE with the world around you, to your benefit and to the benefit of others.
YOU ARE THE DIRECTOR of YOUR LIFE, YOU CHOOSE YOUR SCRIPT, YOU ADAPT, YOU SET INTENTIONS, YOU MANIFEST and YOU BECOME WHO YOU WANT TO BE, because you are here, breathing, living, reading, learning and taking actions daily.
YOU ARE ENTITLED
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
YOU ARE BOUNTIFUL
TO YOUR BREATH
TO YOUR ABUNDANCE
With LOVE
Mila