Don't Let the First Number Set the Frame

The first piece of information you receive about something disproportionately shapes your judgment of everything that follows. A shirt "marked down" from $200 to $80 feels like a deal — even if the shirt was never worth $200 and $80 is still too much. This is anchoring bias, and it affects negotiations, salary expectations, time estimates, and almost every judgment involving numbers.

The defense is awareness. When you catch yourself reacting to a number, pause and ask: "Would I arrive at the same conclusion if this number had not been mentioned?" Set your own anchor before you see someone else's. In a negotiation, research the range before the first offer lands.