Be a thermostat, not a thermometer

My son Gabriel and I watched the most recent movie going by the title Journey to the Center of the Earth this past weekend. It was actually really entertaining. I’d never seen any movies based on the novel, nor have I read the novel, but it kind of made me want to do both.

The premise basically is that 3 people in the modern world (2008) go searching for someone who went missing 10 years prior, and after many weird and sometimes funny things happen, they end up in the long-since-debunked (supposedly) world described by Jules Verne in his novel. The person who went missing, along with the guide’s father, both of whom were rabid fans of the novel are found (long since deceased) and the main characters spend the rest of the time figuring out how to leave this world in the center of the earth. All in all a good movie, and I recommend it for some family weekend entertainment.

One thing I remember from the movie is how the characters are constantly reacting to the world around them. Everything is new, uncertain. The uberbeautiful tour guide (who my son said he has a crush on) who’s the embodiment of cool, calm and collected is rattled with everything going on. They find themselves in abandoned mines, falling off huge cliffs, molten lava prone to erupt at any moment. Although they make it out alive and well, they’re clearly not in control of the situation at any time.

But the one thing they are in control of is their reactions to the craziness around them, like the giant, man-eating plants that are choking the uberbeautiful tour guide and is rescued by the dim, well-meaning hero of the movie. Although it’s chaos at every side, their calm demeanor allows them to overcome their circumstances and return to the supposedly real world.

It reminded me of a saying I once heard, “Be the thermostat, not the thermometer.”

There are certain people who have a presence about them. Their reactions, or lack thereof to things said for example sets the tone for the room. They are the thermostats, just like you set the device in your home to a certain level and the HVAC system stays on until it hits that mark you’ve set.

Then there are the thermometers. They don’t set the tone for anything, they simply react to the environment, or the presence established by those who are the thermostats.

The thermostat says to laugh, cry, get angry, whatever the case may be, and the thermometers dutifully follow their lead. I’ve found this to be true working with Podcast Artistry™ clients, as they often think they know what they want with their podcast – but they’re merely following the fad of the day; i.e. they’re thermometers. It takes the wily, grizzled thermostat producer to gently guide the client into what they need for the big picture success of their show. 

You can be either a thermostat or a thermometer. You can either set the tone for an environment, or simply react to the environment or tone set by another person or group of people.

Sure there are times when you react a certain way to accommodate, to appease someone, but it’s for the purpose of keeping the peace. Maybe you’re dealing with a thermometer who hasn’t yet learned the distinction between the two personality types, and you appease them so as to avoid a fight.

It’s not like you’re a dictator, insisting the world and the universe submit to your will in all things. It’s more a matter of being in control of your own emotions, which govern your reactions to situations that will otherwise go off the rails.

At any rate, if you’re looking for some coaching on how to be more of a thermostat vs. a thermometer, be it in your personal or professional life, I’m taking on new clients. Hit me up with an email and I’ll be in touch very soon!