Is Your Money Thermostat Stuck On Comfortable?


A man went to visit his friend, an old farmer. When he arrived at the farm, he noticed one of the farmer’s dogs lying on the ground and he could tell that the dog was bothered by something.  Whatever was irritating the dog was causing him to bark and whine constantly. After a few minutes, the man asked the farmer what could be the cause of the dog’s discomfort.

“Don’t worry about that old dog,” the farmer replied. “He’s been like that for years.”

“Have you ever taken him to a vet to find out what the problem may be?” asked the man.

“Why bother? I know exactly what’s wrong with that dog. He’s just lazy.”

“But what does that have to do with his barking and whining?”

“You see,” said the farmer, “it just so happens that right where he’s lying there’s a nail that sticks up through the wood. It jabs into his leg and irritates him, so every time he sits there, he barks and whines.

Surprised, the man asked, “then why doesn’t he just move somewhere else?”

“Well,” said the farmer, “I guess it just doesn’t bother him enough.”

What happens when you are sitting in an uncomfortably cold room? I’m sure I know the answer. You get off your chair, walk over to the thermostat and flip the switch to turn up the heat and get comfortable. Sound right?

Now, what happens when you are uncomfortable with your net worth?

As simple as that question is, I believe some people would freeze half to death before they become uncomfortable enough to change their “money thermostat”. Like the dog in the parable above, they are just not bothered enough to make a change. Yet they bark and whine about not having enough!

Let me ask you…

– Are you better or worse off than you were five years ago?

– Has your net worth grown or shrunk?

– Are you well down the path to becoming financially free?

I often say that financial freedom is 85% mental and 15% mechanical. There’s an inner game to money. Most people don’t know about it – that’s why most people never become financially free. A lack of money is generally not the problem. It’s usually just an outward reflection of what’s going on inside.

Like a thermostat controls temperature, you have an internal thermostat that controls your level of success. The level of your success can go up or down a little. But, eventually the thermostat kicks in and brings you right back to where you are comfortable.

That is, until you change the thermostat.  

Is your money thermostat set for success, mediocrity or failure? The way to know for sure is simple. Look at your results. If you’re not on your way to financial freedom, there’s something you need to change…something on the inside my friend.

Start thinking about the net worth you want to have 10 years from now. Financial freedom will happen when you demand it, which will cause your mind to reach out beyond your comfort zone.  Take a hard look at the future and at yourself.  Say, “I demand to be financially free in the future and I’m willing to pay the price to become that person.”

The road to financial freedom begins at the outer edge of your comfort zone. You’re as wealthy and successful as you think you are, which is exactly where your success thermostat is set to at the moment.

Is your money thermostat stuck on an amount of money that just makes you comfortable? Stuck at just enough to get by, just like a thermostat that is stuck at sixty degrees. You want to be warmer, and seventy-two degrees sounds great, but you don’t want to change. That’s what keeps a person at “getting by money” instead of “financially free money.”

Choosing to live at the low end of your financial comfort zone is a certain way to have a life of mediocrity.  Don’t wait. Take action today and reset your money thermostat to success. This will require you to let go of some old ways of thinking around money and push beyond your comfort zone.

The reward is financial freedom.

Take a moment now to imagine how fantastic you will feel. Reset your money thermostat to “Sky High!”