Beliefs Are Like Thermostats: Understanding and Changing Your Set Point
I’ve got an interesting concept for you to think about today. I want you to imagine that our belief systems function much like thermostats, regulating our comfort levels and self-perception. When we stray too far from our psychological set point, we feel uncomfortable and instinctively pull back, often without realising it. This automatic adjustment can manifest in various ways. For instance, achieving unexpected success or meeting someone extraordinary might initially feel exhilarating, but if these experiences don't align with our self-image, we might unconsciously sabotage ourselves to return to a familiar, albeit limiting, comfort zone. This phenomenon highlights the powerful influence of our mental set points on our behaviour and outcomes, emphasising the need to understand and actively adjust these internal "thermostats" to foster personal growth and success.
Imagine a thermostat set at 50 degrees. If the temperature rises to 60 or 70 degrees, it quickly drops back to 50 because that’s where it’s comfortable. Similarly, when life challenges us, we find the strength to bounce back, much like a thermostat rising from 30 or 40 degrees back to its set point of 50. We crave homeostasis (A state of balance among all the body systems needed for the body to survive and function correctly), and deviations from our mental "temperature" make us uneasy.
This concept mirrors hedonic adaptation (people's general tendency to return to a set level of happiness despite life's ups and downs), where our levels of happiness reset over time. We all have a success set point, and moving beyond it requires intentional effort. To change our belief systems, we need to push ourselves to higher "thermostat temperatures" and stay there longer, gradually making the uncomfortable feel comfortable. This phenomenon can be further explored in our downloadable hypnosis session, Get Comfortable Getting Uncomfortable.
Author Shannon L. Alder captures this idea: “It is not until you change your identity to match your life...” By challenging and resetting our mental set points, we can redefine what we believe we deserve and achieve.
Understanding our belief systems as thermostats allows us to recognise the automatic adjustments our minds make. By consciously adjusting our mental thermostats, we can push past our comfort zones and achieve greater levels of success and happiness. So, the next time you feel yourself pulling back, remember that it’s just your internal thermostat at work. With effort and persistence, you can reset it to a higher level and embrace the new, elevated set point.
