The Secret that Everybody Ought to Know About Living Successfully

My thermostat is set to 70 degrees. And life is pretty good at 70 degrees.

But one day, I wake up, and things are feeling a little chilly. And on that day I have a lot going on, so I just throw on a sweater and keep going. That night, I’m too tired to go downstairs and turn up the thermostat, so I throw on an extra blanket and fall asleep all warm and snug.

This goes on for a week or two, and soon, I wake up and find that things are really cold. I finally go and turn up the thermostat, but find that I also have to clean out my vents, because dust is flying everywhere. And I have to change the furnace filter, because it’s been a long time since I took care of that. And now my whole house needs cleaning, because I didn’t catch the dust in time.

If I had taken care of all of this stuff when things started getting chilly, my day wouldn’t be so filled with chores.

But now I am really uncomfortable, so I take care of it all, and kick my butt into gear. I clean the house. I get my furnace checked and cleaned. I go to Home Depot and buy several furnace filters so that I can change them often.

And life is pretty good again.

So, I got to thinking… what if I stayed on top of my game like this more often? And what if I stayed on top of my game in my business, AND in my home, AND in my relationship, AND with my family? Wow! That would be AWESOME! I’ll DO IT!
So a few weeks later, I wake up one morning and I am sweating. Whoa! What’s up with that?! I check my furnace and my thermostat - everything is fine. I guess things must be running more efficiently! Cool!

I’m SO on top of my game! I’m going to call my hubby to make plans for dinner: let’s go out and celebrate! And you know what? We haven’t been on vacation in a really long time - why don’t we talk about finally planning that trip to Florida?

I wake up the next day in a great mood - I’m feeling so good I’m going to call myself in “sick” today! My furnace is running so well on its own that I don’t need to check it - I’m going out to play! And I’m already getting ready for Florida - we are able to take the time away now, and you know what? We NEED this vacation!

I’ll make my to do list, and hopefully I’ll get everything done before we go… Let’s see, clothes? Check. Toiletries? Check. Pet sitter? Check. Change furnace filter? It’s running so smoothly right now - I’ll take care of it when we get back to town.

Ahh - sunny Florida. What a great trip it was! We tanned, we saw Mickey, we swam in the ocean. What great family bonding time! But it’s good to be on the way home… I can’t wait to get there and just flop on the couch.

We turn the key in the door, and uh-oh. Crap! What the #$%& is going on? The house is FREEZING! I go and check the thermostat - it’s flipping 58 degrees in this house! What the heck happened?

I hate this see-saw crap! One day it’s freezing - next I’m sweating, and now I’m freezing again! I can’t take it anymore! So… I think I’ll approach this differently and ask myself some better questions:

1. What are the consequences of living my life comfortably at 70 degrees? What will I never accomplish as long as my thermostat is always set at 70?
2. I love living my life at 80 degrees, but I get so darn sweaty! What would I have to believe about myself in order to feel more comfortable when things get warm?
3. As I look back over this pattern, I find I am most productive and energetic when I’m just a little chilly. How can I maintain this motivation as things get warmer?
4. Living life at 68 degrees is a little uncomfortable, but certainly not unbearable. How can I change my perception or my approach to living life a little chilly? What would transform the experience from “uncomfortable” to “exhilarating” and from “frustrating” to “exciting”?

Hhhmmmmm… these are good questions. I’m going to go set my thermostat to 72 degrees right now and ponder my answers…