When losing a negotiation feels great…

Paco has become quite the ferocious and passionate Monopoly player recently.
He’s always asking anyone who will listen, if they will play with him.
Mind you, I don’t let him win. Ever.
But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t absolutely CRUSHED me a few times. He has.
What’s more, in addition to his burgeoning real estate tycoon skills, he’s become quite the negotiator, even outside of the game.
The other day, we were walking home together.
He wanted to play Monopoly.
I wanted to take a nap.
We agreed that if he completely read a new book he had just received, he could wake me up from the nap and we would play.
I thought the book was about 200 pages, so I was confident I would get in at least 2 hours. (He is a fast reader).
When we got home, I noticed the book was about 90 pages and immediately realized I was in trouble.
Paco recognized the same thing and as I attempted to renegotiate the deal, he knew he had me over a barrel.
What he managed to do in the next 4 minutes, without backing down, was extract a series of concessions from me to enable a 2 hour nap.
The details aren’t important. What’s notable is how he saw the opportunity and leveraged his position.
Yes, I was proud…even in defeat.