Someone once told me that everyone falls into one of two categories: they are either a thermometer or a thermostat.
A thermometer simply reacts to the temperature around it, it rises or falls based on the environment. If it’s hot, it shows heat. If it’s cold, it shows cold. In life, thermometer people are those who are at the mercy of their surroundings. Their mood, attitude, and actions are dictated by what’s happening to them.
A thermostat, on the other hand, doesn’t just measure the temperature, it sets it. It influences the environment instead of being controlled by it. In life, thermostat people are intentional. They choose their attitude. They decide the tone of their day. They create calm in chaos, warmth in coldness, and light in dark places.
The question isn’t which one do you want to be? the question is which one are you most often?
Because here’s the truth: we don’t live in perfect conditions. As another wise voice once said, “Everyone is either in a storm, getting out of a storm, or going into a storm.”
Life’s storms are inevitable. Sometimes you’re blindsided, sometimes you see the clouds forming on the horizon. Peace in this world is real, but it’s often short and fleeting, not because life is cruel, but because it’s constantly moving. Seasons change, challenges come and go, and no one gets a permanent forecast of sunny skies.
That’s where being a thermostat matters most. If you can set your internal temperature, ground yourself in faith, discipline, and perspective, then the storm doesn’t define you. The wind can blow, the rain can fall, but you decide how you respond.
You can’t stop every storm, but you can choose whether you’re tossed by the waves or anchored in place.
Be the thermostat. And when the next storm comes, and it will, let it find you steady, unshaken, and ready.
Troy P Zehnder 