You're folding before they even offer

You're not comfortable. You're numb, and it's killing your negotiating power one excuse at a time. Watch how leaders run closed door meetings. Nobody caves in the first hour. They sit in tension they didn't create, wait it out, let the other side blink first. That's the whole skill. You do the opposite. Uncomfortable email, you answer it in two minutes just to make the feeling stop. Hard conversation, you fold before you even negotiate. The real reason you lose leverage isn't skill. It's that you can't sit in discomfort for sixty seconds without needing an exit. Comfort isn't safety. It's the slowest way to lose.