The Thermostat You Carry With You

A man said to me once — and this was years ago, but I never forgot it — he said, "Jim, I just can't seem to get ahead. Every time I make a little progress, something knocks me back down."

I said, "Tell me something. When you wake up in the morning, before anything happens, before the phone rings, before the boss calls, before the traffic — what's your first thought?"

He looked at me like nobody had ever asked him that before. He said, "I don't know. I guess I think about all the things that could go wrong."

I said, "Well, my friend, there's your answer."

The Thermostat Principle

See, most people think attitude is a result. Something happens, and then you feel a certain way about it. Good news, good attitude. Bad news, bad attitude. They've got it backwards.

Attitude is not the result. Attitude is the cause.

Here's what I found out. Your attitude functions like a thermostat. Not a thermometer — a thermostat. A thermometer just reads the temperature. It tells you what's happening around you. But a thermostat? A thermostat determines the temperature. It sets the environment.

Now, what happens when you set your home thermostat to 72 degrees? If the temperature drops to 65, what does the system do? It kicks on and brings it back up. If the temperature rises to 80, what happens? The system kicks on and brings it back down. The thermostat regulates. The thermostat controls.

We call that the internal set point.

And here's what's fascinating — you carry a thermostat with you everywhere you go. It's not in your house. It's in your mind. And whatever you've set it to, that's the temperature of your life. That's the temperature of your business. That's the temperature of your relationships.

You Don't Find an Attitude — You Choose One

Somebody says, "Well, I'd have a better attitude if I had a better job."

And I say, "No, you'd have a better job if you had a better attitude."

They've got the sequence wrong. They're waiting for circumstances to improve so their attitude can improve. But attitude doesn't work that way. Attitude is not something that happens to you. Attitude is something you choose.

Good phrase to know: mental posture.

Just like you can choose to stand up straight or slouch, you can choose your mental posture. You can choose to face the day with your shoulders back. You can choose to look at problems like puzzles instead of punishments. You can choose — and this is key — you can choose before anything happens.

A fellow asked me once, "Jim, how do you stay so positive?"

I said, "Who told you I was positive?"

He said, "Well, you seem like it."

I said, "I'm not positive. I'm disciplined. There's a difference."

See, positive sounds like you're walking around with your head in the clouds, pretending everything's wonderful. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the disciplined choice to control your mental posture regardless of circumstances.

The disciplined choice.

Regardless of circumstances.

That's the whole key.

The Daily Cultivation

Now, here's what most people miss. They think attitude is a one-time decision. Like you wake up one morning, decide to have a good attitude, and you're done. Set it and forget it.

No, no, no. Attitude is a daily cultivation. It's like a garden. You don't plant seeds in April and then ignore the garden until September. What would you have? A jungle of weeds and disappointment.

You've got to tend the garden every day. Pull the weeds every day. Water the good plants every day.

Same with attitude. You've got to cultivate it daily.

Here's a good one: stand guard at the door of your mind.

You've got to watch what you let in. Watch what you watch. Watch what you read. Watch who you listen to. Because everything that gets through that door affects your thermostat setting. Let in enough negativity, enough cynicism, enough "it can't be done," and pretty soon your thermostat drops. And once it drops, your results drop to match.

I remember when Mr. Shoaff taught me this. I was 25 years old, broke, making excuses. And he said, "Jim, you've got a lousy attitude and it's costing you a fortune."

Well, that stung. I said, "Mr. Shoaff, I've got a lot of problems."

He said, "You've got one problem. The rest are symptoms."

That stuck with me for 40 years.

The Altitude Connection

So why does attitude determine altitude? Here's the simple truth — altitude requires lift. You don't rise by accident. You rise by intention. And your attitude is the engine that creates the lift.

Think about it. What makes one person work through difficulty while another quits? Attitude. What makes one person see opportunity where another sees obstacle? Attitude. What makes one person learn from failure while another is crushed by it? Attitude.

The circumstances are often identical. Two people, same market, same economy, same challenges. One rises. One stays stuck. What's the difference? The thermostat setting.

Somebody says, "Well, that's easy for you to say. You don't know my situation."

And I say, "You're right. I don't know your situation. But I know this — your attitude toward your situation is the one thing you control completely."

Right?

You can't control the economy. You can't control the weather. You can't control what other people think, say, or do. But you can control what you think, say, and do. You can control your mental posture. You can control your thermostat.

The Assignment

So here's my challenge to you, my friend.

Tomorrow morning — not someday, tomorrow — before your feet hit the floor, make a choice. Set your thermostat consciously. Don't let circumstances set it for you. Don't let the news set it. Don't let your inbox set it.

You set it.

Then watch what happens throughout the day. When something tries to lower the temperature, notice it. Catch yourself. And make the disciplined choice to bring it back up.

It won't be easy at first. Nothing worthwhile is. But do it for a week. Then a month. Then let it become who you are.

Because here's what I've discovered after all these years — the people who rise the highest aren't the ones with the fewest problems. They're the ones with the most disciplined thermostats.

Attitude is not what happens to you.

Attitude is what you choose.

Choose well.