Eugene Moreau - Are You a Thermometre or a Thermostat?

 Read more articles by Eugene Moreau.

Sadly we live in a world that seems to be dominated by thermometer oriented people.

What do I mean by this? I mean people who live their life reflecting the environment and culture around them.

Most people like buying things that others buy, saying things that others say, wearing things that others wear, and valuing things that others value. Most people don’t set the ‘climate’ for the world they live in; they just ‘mirror’ the world they live in and then complain about it.

Just so we’re clear, let me give you a quick and concise statement of difference between a thermostat and a thermometer? A thermometer simply tells us what the room temperature is while a thermostat dictates the temperature in the room.

A person who has a thermostat mindset carries a positive aura about them. When they enter a room they ‘dictate’ the climate. Their presence stimulates, invigorates, calms, and settles. In short a thermostat person ‘influences’.

In contrast, when a person has a thermometer mindset they reflect what is already around them. If there is confusion and lethargy in the room, then they will simply reflect it. A thermometer person goes up and down, depending on what’s going on around them.  In short a thermometer person ‘is influenced’.

So, here’s the question:  Do you live your life, make decisions and build relationships with a thermometer or a thermostat mindset?

Let’s start by saying that your mindset is best defined as the habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.

Living with a thermometer mindset will leave you feeling frustrated, distant and overwhelmed because you will keep telling yourself how you ‘must’, you ‘have to’, you ‘need to’ respond to the changing temperature in your life.

What are the things that you believe that you ‘have to’ do?  If your habit is to feel obligated and your mind gives you thoughts that you ‘have to’, ‘should’, or ‘must’, then you are a thermometer to your own thinking habits.

Here’s the bottom line… if you don’t change the way you think you will never break the thermometer mindset.

Let me put it to you this way…having a thermostat mindset starts with the way you think.

So, how does one establish and then sustain the thermostat mindset? The answer is ‘from the inside…out’. That’s right! You make effective, sustainable change when you focus on the ‘inner life’ (thermostat) aspects of your life.

So, let me give you four simple thermostat exercises that you can start using right now.

First:

Change your vocabulary. Eliminate negative words like “can’t,” “won’t” and “failure.” The language you use influences the way you think.  Use only positive language. Every morning, talk to yourself using powerful, positive words to set the tone for your day. You will influence and inspire through your behavior and your behaviour starts with the way you talk about yourself to yourself.

Second:

Perform one unselfish act or service for someone everyday day. I call this “thermostat behaviour’ because all acts of service, positive or negative, influences the environment. Your ‘positive’ act of service doesn’t have to be grand. It can be something as simple as offering a ride home to a co-worker, or helping them finish a project.

Third:

Stay away from chronic complainers and other negative people. Or at least get them on a cheerful subject. Don’t stay and wallow in their misery and negative environment with them. You make a commitment to be the influencer, not the influenced.

Four:

Make a list of the major traits, habits, attitudes and skills that will exemplify the ideal, influencing ‘you’. Once you’ve made your list then make every effort to follow these guidelines everyday. If you need to, enlist the help of an accountability partner to work with you until you’ve established the thermostat mindset.

Finally, remember your goal is to be the influencer rather than being the one influenced.

Until next time…be a thermostat! Start now!

Eugene.

Published 12th Nov 2009

print