When we are preparing for our next negotiation, we will try to take  everything that we’re going to be up against into account. 

What this  means is that we’ll study the issues, research who will be on the other  side, and we may even check out the location for the negotiation.  However, there is one additional thing that we may overlook – any self-fulfilling prophecies that we may be bringing to the table. 

If we aren’t careful, these can work against us just as much as the other side will be.