I was adjusting the thermostat in our house the other day. I like the temperature a bit cooler, and my wife Debbie likes it a bit warmer. The correct temperature has always been a point of discussion in our house, sometimes to the point of a “spirited discussion.” At the end of the day, I adjust the temperature to what my wife enjoys and then secretly adjust it to my comfort zone when she is away. 

In life we have an emotional thermostat as well. It’s an emotional home where we feel most comfortable. The emotional temperature that best fits our current identity and belief about our life. It’s the level of success we believe we deserve in our relationships, finances, business, education and spiritual life. When we experience a high level of success (things start to get hot) we subconsciously turn on the air conditioning and cool things off to a more comfortable internal temperature. For example, if we have a fantastic month in sales and close deals above our normal performance level, we start to feel uncomfortable. We seem to find nonproductive things to do (busy work) and don’t keep the focus on the main tasks that brought us success the previous month. Can we change this?

There are several things we can do to overcome this tendency to self-sabotage and turn up the internal temperature to HOT and see our productivity and success increase. 

1. Recognize and acknowledge what we are experiencing. Then ask the following questions – What am I feeling? When and where did I first feel this way? Remember that this exercise may take more than a few minutes. We may also begin to feel some emotions that we buried long ago, and the pain associated with it. This is a point that we may have to forgive someone who hurt us. We may also have to renounce an inner vow we made long ago. A vow that sounds like this, “I will never say or do…” then fill in the blank. Vows include phrases “I will never be greedy, say hurtful things to my loved ones, embarrass my children, or live in poverty, etc.” We can’t have positive success in any area of life if the associated emotion is tied to a toxic root. 
2. Now that we have some level of insight, the next step is to set a plan of action in place. This is a point of decision that will begin our journey forward. It’s the power of one more decision and taking one more action. 
3. Our plan should involve small incremental steps, not one giant leap. We must build up our emotional and mental strength; it’s the effect and power of compounding. Small changes made regularly & consistently over time bring a higher level of success. It’s important to track our success and celebrate the small victories as we continue to be aware of how we are feeling.
4. Lastly, make the decision to never quit on a down day when we feel defeated and don’t have the strength to move forward, just take action for “One More Day”. Give ourselves permission to only quit on good days. NOTE – we never feel like quitting on the good days. 

Enjoy the journey and begin to see a new level of success as we turn up the success thermostat of our life.