We know them. We work with them. We’re friends with them. We’re related to them.
Sometimes we live with them. Many times, we are them.
They’re the thermometers, quick to judge, quick to anger, and quick to jump on the negativity bandwagon. Someone gets frustrated and we jump aboard the complain train along with them.
It’s easy to be a thermometer. It takes little effort. Our attitudes rise and fall with the temperature of the people that we spend the most time with. And it can feel good to vent and blow off some steam.
But being a thermometer is toxic. It’s not good for us to be so quick to change our outlook on circumstances for the worst. It makes us unpredictable, unable to handle pressure. It changes us.
And it doesn’t make things better.
Compare that to a thermostat, which doesn’t change without thoughtful effort. It doesn’t change its setting because of the environment. It’s hell-bent on keeping itself set to the temperature that it was programmed to stick to. It remains constant, yet activates when it needs to change its surroundings.
So which are you – a thermometer or a thermostat? What could happen in your life if you refused to let negative comments and actions of others infect you and instead you decided to affect others?