Stratagem 4: Relax and Wait for the Adversary to Tire Himself Out or Await Leisurely the Exhausted Enemy
Identification
If you have the luxury of time (or patience), but they do not, use that to your advantage to tax your opponent and wear them down.
Example
Let’s say we’re at the negotiating table again with your soon-to-be-ex. If you know they are not a patient person, you spend time arguing over splitting meaningless assets that you do not care about (inexpensive items or services that are “sentimental” to you), until they eventually become so exhausted that they throw their hands up—just at the moment when you have added the request for a chunk of the stock portfolio. Burn time at the beginning of the dispute and increase the focus and/or demand for the important things you want towards the end of the deal, when everyone is so tired they want to jump out the window.
Solution
If you do not have the luxury of time, decide early on what you are willing to sacrifice and what you are not willing to sacrifice—and stick to it. This will conserve your energy.