Keep your own ego in check.
We want to win. We think highly of ourselves. We feel we deserve more. We feel insulted when the other party offers less than what we expected. Sometimes it is because of our ego that we become stubborn and unable, or even unwilling, to see the true picture. So yes, sometimes we are the problem. Now this is not about always giving in to the other party's requests. It is about taking a fair and unbiased view.
In one negotiation I have experienced personally, when presented with the initial offer, my first instinct was this was a lowball offer and an insult. I wanted to respond by stating my ask, and telling them to just take it or leave it. I stopped myself, and spent some time researching the market rates for this nature of work. I found out that even considering the various factors like my experience and the topic of training, the offer was reasonable. I accepted it, and avoided the unnecessary tedious haggling, which might not have produced results anyway. It saved everyone's time, and we all got what we wanted.
