This is Your Brain on Negotiating a Raise

“😥 Ugh, negotiating with Picky Pat (my boss) a couple years ago was so emotionally exhausting that I’d do anything to avoid confronting them again this year, even though I know I’m overdue for a market rate adjustment,” my client said.

My client wants to feel confident going into future conversations about the promotion and raise she wants.

She doesn’t consciously want to be rehashing the past and feeling tense and frustrated.

“Here’s the thing,” I told her.

👉🏼 “Your brain is a prediction machine. It's trying to protect you by predicting the future based on past experiences.

“That’s why — even though you have so much more experience, leverage, and options than before — your brain 🧠 keeps going back to the past.

“Its intention is positive. To keep you protected from another emotionally draining experience, but its ways are misguided. It’s actually eroding your confidence, not building it,” I told her.

“That’s because your brain's repeating a habituated pattern to predict the future.

✨ “And that’s also good news. Because any habituated pattern can be interrupted. Forcing the brain to create new neural pathways.

“You can implement simple, repeatable pattern interrupts to change how you feel, respond, and behave even when you’re negotiating with Picky Pat, Ben, or Sue.

“Instead of having a past orientation, you can negotiate with a future focus, grounded in your capacity to do new things, be a leader, and cultivate even better options for yourself.”

This is true for her as it is true for you.

If you’ve felt stuck, anxious, or frustrated remembering the past while thinking about what you want in your future — your brain is working exactly as it should.

Your brain is also incredibly adaptable and capable of change.

With evidence-based tools, you can redirect your brain to where you want to go, how you want to feel, who you want to be.

I can help you.

Book your consult today because you know the real and only obstacle in the way of you negotiating the way you want is yourself.

And you and your brain have a deep capacity for growth and change.