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Homeostasis: The Thermostat Within Us

Written by: Karla Robertson

Article Overview: What makes us dig our mental heels in when change is looming in front of us and may even make tings better? What is it that kicks in that drives us to keep change from making things better or worse?

Homeostasis: The Thermostat Within Us

Homeostasis is the combination of opposing equal forces to prevent change and maintain equilibrium. The best example I can give you here is your home’s thermostat. Internally, this device is rigged with sensors, the sole purpose of which is to maintain the temperature at which you set it. When it notices that the room’s temperature is changing, lower or higher, from the temperature it is programmed to maintain, it will set off an opposing action, heat or air conditioning, to prevent change and maintain the set temperature.

Now think about that in the context of your team, organization, relationships, etc. Go ahead. Take a moment. Think about a change that might be occurring or that you’re discussing with your team, family, or business partner. How’s that going? Are you feeling that opposing forces are pushing against what you’re trying to change, communicate, or influence? Could that be a good thing?

Lest you think homeostasis is a negative or positive thing, let me quickly add it is not. It is actually neutral. Think about what would happen if humans didn’t have their protector of homeostasis…the hypothalamus. Without it, our body temperatures would be all over the place. So, homeostasis can have the effect of keeping bad things from getting better (or worse) and good things from getting bad (or great)!

Questions: How is homeostasis showing up in your thinking, decision-making and actions? What opposing “forces” in your thinking patterns and internal chatter keep your brain connecting the dots in the same ways? How is that working for you and against you? What effect is that having on your team? How can you reset your internal controls to remain mentally agile to know when to stay the course and when to allow in other incoming information to inform your thinking in order that your decisions and actions meet emerging and changing demands?

How do you deal with homeostatic thinking and behavior in your organization and in yourself? In her book, Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart, Mary Beth O’Neill offers this well-known proverb from systemic thinking: “The unit and focus of change is the system. The agent of change is the individual.” So, understanding that statement and embracing it can be liberating. It gets you away from the victim mentality of “everyone’s against me”. “They’re doing this to me on purpose.”

Remember that even when things are bad, people will exert force, of epic proportions at times, to keep it bad...and here’s the kicker: They’ll do this even when they have a desire to change and know that the change would be helpful to their survival. Go figure. There is a saying in psychology circles that people only change when the prospect of staying on the same course is scarier than the prospect of the unknown that change would bring. Alternatively, when things are good, they’ll fight to keep it good especially if they perceive that the change will have a negative impact or pose a threat to something they value in some way.

Your focus is to change the system by being the driver of change. To engage others to challenge their current thinking system or level of homeostasis, you, the leader, must change your own pattern of thinking, approach and behavior. If results need to increase, if energy needs to be renewed, if innovation has to be sparked, then you have to change the steps to the dance you’ve been doing with your team, your family, your boss.

So, how is homeostasis operating in your life?

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Article Tags: air conditioning, backbone, body temperatures, brain, business partner, connecting the dots, decisions, equilibrium, executive coaching, hypothalamus, opposing forces, relationships, sensors, sole purpose, team organization, thermostat



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