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Hey there, it’s Dennis.
In today’s issue:
A late night at the office and the story of the boiling frog 🐸
Why transformation feels like playing with the thermostat. Heat up, cool down, repeat
How the Tiger takes control when we retreat to comfort
Practical steps to reclaim the thermostat and stack small wins
Reflection questions to help you spot where fear is holding you back
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Take Your Temperature
Most of the lights were out in the offices; there were only a handful of people left, toiling away. Of course, other than him, everyone else was janitorial or maintenance staff performing activities in preparation for the next day.
He glanced up at the clock, regretting the action as soon as he had taken it. The digital display showed it to be half past 6 pm. His wife and children would be sitting down to eat pizza with friends, a celebration for the end of summer that he had promised he would not miss.
Yet here he was. Missing time with all of them again.
How did he get here, working tirelessly for 10, 12, 14, or more hours each day? He told himself it was to climb the corporate ladder, yet deep down, he knew that his efforts would not be appreciated, and with a simple mistake or corporate restructuring, he would be out of a job and quickly replaced.
He thought back to a story he had heard during a training session about a frog.
When the frog was placed in boiling water, it would quickly jump out, saving its life. However, if that same frog were placed in room temperature water that was then heated, the frog would remain and, in the end, lose his life to the water that would ultimately boil.
It was at that moment that he realized he had become the latter frog…
In the book Leadership on the Line by Heifetz and Linsky, they discuss a concept whereby a leader considers themselves to be the one controlling the thermostat on the wall.
This is presented in a chapter that focuses on orchestrating the conflict that arises from change. In this case, the leader faces a crucial challenge in controlling the thermostat by turning up the heat just enough to generate action, address challenges, and move the change forward.
The balancing part for the leader is to know when to turn the thermostat down: to reduce tension, recognize progress, and provide their team with a chance to recover.
Personal transformation is no different. The change you are embarking on will create tension, stress, challenge the status quo, and resistance—from within and from those closest to you.
You must be in control of your thermostat:
knowing when to turn up the heat to spur yourself to action
and knowing when to turn it down to allow yourself to recover.
As you go through transformation, the challenge is not turning up the heat. We’re generally pretty good at pushing ourselves to change once we make the decision.
The challenge is that the temperature can get hot quickly. We move to turn the thermostat down to be more comfortable and, in doing so, we seek comfort and not the challenge. That’s when turning up the temperature again becomes a massive barrier, because we already know how hot it’s going to get.
When you are in this situation, your Tiger is the one in control of the thermostat, not you!
It will take effort and focus—through an approach that empowers you to stack the small wins, build your internal confidence, and strengthen resilience.
Have no doubt: if you do not take control of the thermostat back from the Tiger, you will only ever achieve an illusion of transformation.
Reflection Questions
What is a transformational challenge you have been putting off?
How does your Tiger keep you in the comfort zone when you want to change?
Quote of The Week:
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
Apply it to yourself: when has the Tiger hemmed you up in your comfort zone?
That’s a wrap.
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Until next time!
The Tiger Is Inside You.