Hard Stuff Ahead

I hate haggling.

I like for the price listed on something to be a fair price. I hate having to decide whether I should try to convince someone to sell me something cheaper, or feeling like a rube when I pay full-price for something. When people try to get me to haggle, I automatically feel like they are cheating me.

I'm trying to buy a car.

That was the impetus for that mini-rant about haggling. I'm thinking about getting a used car, and that means I'm probably going to have to haggle. I'm not a total newbie, I have purchased a car before. But, I've long felt like the salesman got over on me, and I've been both dreading and looking forward to the day when I can redeem myself.

See, I have this problem with being lazy.

I've gotten better, but it's still a problem. That laziness manifests itself in an unwillingness to properly prepare for or research things. When I bought my last car, I didn't research what different cars sold for. I just went into the dealership, told them how much I wanted to spend, and tried to find a car that worked. Obviously, that wasn't a smart move.

This time around I've been looking online, figuring out how much the car I like typically costs and then trying to locate one near my house. I've also been steeling myself to properly haggle with salesman. My pops offered to accompany me to the dealership, he loves to haggle, but I want to do this alone.

Do y'all ever feel that way?

Even though I dread the idea of bargaining, part of me wants to buy this car all by myself so I can prove I have what it takes. Sure, it's uncomfortable and difficult, but there is a part of me that relishes that experience. It reminds me of what I told my wife when she saw I had purchased a big bag of sunflower seeds recently. She was confused at my purchase because she already had a bag of shelled sunflower seeds at the house. She asked why would I want to go through the hassle of shelling my own seeds, when I could just eat hers.

I simply said "Sometimes I like to do difficult things."

I'm not saying that I'm contrary enough to look for ways to make my life harder. In fact, the opposite is true most of the time. But, every so often, I get a hankering to find out what I still have left in the tank.

That might mean playing one-on-one basketball against my far superior next-door-neighbor. It might mean reading some incredibly dense book because I know the knowledge within its pages is important. Sometimes it's as simple as wanting to shell my own sunflower seeds.

It's kind of like I need to prove to myself I'm still the man I thought I was, or I need to show myself that I can be more than I previously believed. Buying a car on my own and only paying the amount I want to pay would prove that to me. It would show me what I'm capable of, just like the first time I ran three miles. It's amazing what we can do when we prepare ourselves and put in the work. I want to get that high that comes from a well-earned accomplishment.

Even if it's hard.



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