drop 36: the ultimate thermostat

drop 36: the ultimate thermostat

Our own self image, belief, or esteem is just like our heating and cooling thermostats – it’s a cybernetic system. Interesting that in the 1960’s Maxwell Maltz wrote Psycho Cybernetics. I read it then and what struck me was that Maltz was a plastic surgeon and he noted that people with facial disfigurations, when repaired, they still saw themselves as though the disfigurations were still present.



Here is an example of how this works. I’ve chosen children and report cards, yet this works for each of us, no matter what age.

1. We set the thermostat to keep the house warm or cool at 70 degrees.
1. A child's grades over a period of time are average. This is what his report card reflects. This is what his teachers tell him. This is what his parents tell him. His work is average.

2. Someone comes into the house and leaves the front door open in winter.
2. Parents offer incentives for the child to do better and, he is temporarily inspired.

3. Signal goes to furnace to turn it on to bring the temp back to 70.
3. Inspired child works hard with some results for a short period of time.

4. When 70 degrees is restored, signal tells furnace to shut off.
4. Before long the child loses temporary inspiration and goes back to his average behavior.

To change the 'set point' as to what a child believes he can accomplish, it takes spaced repetitive and consistent feeding of information that says the child is better than average. Since most parents are simply unaware of how their own and their child's self esteem is built, they do not even know what they have done to build that image ... nor what they can do to reverse it.

As we are all born with infinite potential, it is a pity to see and hear that a child's image of himself is average (or less than average).

The 'setting' of the image can come in words like "that was stupid," "you weren't thinking," "these are terrible grades," "can't you do any better," "your brother got all A's," and so on and so forth. The more times a child hears these things, the more 'locked in' self image becomes.

Is it true -- that he is average (or that we are)? Of course it is not. But what we believe, is the truth for us. We never outperform our own self image. This is likely THE biggest reason why only a very few people are really successful. If you don't believe you can be, you will not be. I address this very issue specifically in my Think & Grow Rich mastermind studies and in my new program for communities and schools, Style & Mindset.

Wishing you a safe, warm and industrious holiday season with results in the new year that are bigger and better than ever before!

Leslie Flowers