Half Empty or Half Full Part 2

If a = half empty and b = half full then a + b must equal half empty and half full?!? How can this be? Isn't this an oxymoron? We shall soon discover....

With the holiday's approaching, and a deep reflection on my current situation, I can't help but wonder if the glass is half full or half empty...

An optimist sees the best in the world, while a pessimist sees only the worst. An optimist finds the positive in the negative, while a pessimist can only find the negative in the positive. The optimist always sees the glass as half full while the pessimist can only see it as half empty. Which are you? Which am I? Is there a benefit to either camp? Is there a gray area in there somewhere where one can be both as described in the logical function above? What is the point in your ramblings anyway Mike? Muahahaha Muahahaha Muahahaha

Research consistently shows that our degree of optimism or overall macro view on life has a profound impact on the quality of our individual lives. Be a optimist and you'll always be happy right? Be a pessimist and all you will find is disappointment and misfortune? So then it must be true by deductive reasoning that optimism is good and pessimism bad, cool we're done! Well not entirely true, nor finished, so take a look at the flip side for a moment...

The obvious problem with negative thinking and pessimism is that you are always going to be stuck on the wrong side of the coin. What I mean is that whenever you have a dream or illusion you will ONLY foresee a negative outcome and stop the pursuit before even trying. In return you are seemingly destine to end up as unsuccessful and worst yet an unfulfilled person or so "they" say. Not a desirable outcome in the world! How depressing! You can't finish the race if you don't start it....and this is the inherent problem in pessimism. Optimists on the other hand always seem to find that ray of light at the end of a dark tunnel...the ray of light that leads a mean to an end. Eternal contentment, happiness, and sweet bliss no? But...could that attitude possibly drive one into complacency?

I remember hearing this story in a political science course in college....Ronald Reagan once told a story of two little boys-one an optimist, the other a pessimist. The pessimist was placed in a room full of toys and he continued to whine and cry, never seemingly content no matter the outcome. In contrast, the optimist was placed in a room full of horse manure and was given a shovel. The optimist was happily shoveling away the manure. When asked why he was so happy, he said: "There's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

We all need to see the glass as half full a little more, especially me and I will be the first to admit that! Keep shoveling the shit and your reward can be found... But don't be fooled into thinking pessimism is all bad, as it can actually act in a strange way as a motivational force for achievement...

Now as we all can see my views today on the matter seem rather black and white, cut and dry...your either in one camp or the other. One has it's benefits while the other it's drawbacks....or so it seems. But is there a gray area as described in my equation at the beginning of this post? Can one be both and is there and advantage to embracing both schools of thought simultaneously? I have found an alternative view to the old optimist vs. pessimist conflict and would like to share it as well...

"As we all know, the glass serves as a metaphor for life, and water represents the good things in it. So, seeing the glass as half empty means you're a pessimist, because you dwell on the lack in your life. Seeing it as half full means you're optimistic, because you focus on the good things in life. Most people choose the latter and describe themselves as optimists. Notice an interesting social phenomenon here. Most people want to be seen as optimists, even those who are usually morose and glum. Aren't we just a planet full of upbeat, sunny cheerleaders? GOOOO TEAM! How interesting! Why do we have such a social pressure to be relentlessly optimistic?"

"Let's look at it from a completely different angle and turn this paradigm upside down. Is it always a negative thing to see the glass as half empty? Suppose such a perception motivates you to fill the glass - so to speak - whereas seeing it as half full leads to complacency. Focusing on the lack in one's life can then be a driving force for success. Not so negative now, is it?" MOTIVATION!!!

"Indeed, a glass with water at the halfway point can be seen as both half empty and half full. Sometimes it is useful to think of it one way; other times it's better to see it the other way. This is a completely accurate description of reality, and probably a much better way to conceptualize it than to arbitrarily force it into one category or another. By recognizing that the glass can embody both descriptions simultaneously, we begin to deal with it from a holistic logical mindset, taking into account every aspect of the object and subsequently life."

So which are you now? Both? There are inherent advantages found within the all.... ¶ 6:10 AM