How to Cultivate a Glass Half Full Mentality
I imagine that, at one time or another, you’ve read or heard various definitions comparing optimism and pessimism. Perhaps the oldest and most familiar one involves a glass of water (or other beverage), which the optimist describes as half-full, and the pessimist as half-empty.
Well, I once heard of a young boy who turned that comparison upside down. After drinking half of his glass of milk, he set it down and announced: “I’m an optimist. My glass is half-empty.” Told that his view was pessimistic, he replied: “Not if you don’t like what’s in it.”
That’s a pretty smart — and optimistic — kid, and I’m on his side. I’m definitely an optimist, perhaps to a fault. Much of that is based on experience. I’ve found that, when something seemingly doesn’t go as planned, the outcome, more often than not, takes me down a previously undiscovered path. At the end of the day, I’ve learned something, possibly gained a new perspective and usually have come out better. When it doesn’t, I’ve discovered one more way not to do something and learned one more time that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Optimists are self-motivated by inspiring themselves to action. They believe in who they are and in what they are doing. They make mistakes and learn from them. They achieve success but don’t take for granted that success will come again. ~ Ted W. Engstrom
I have failed — a lot. Looking back, out of each of those failures came new learning, new growth, new perspective, more resilience, more education, more humility and, most importantly, more funny stories.
So, what’s not to be optimistic about?
There is a downside to perpetual, blind optimism, though.
It’s when you fail to recognize a large impediment or barrier because you’re so busy discounting its importance and looking only for the silver lining. However, don’t swing so far that you fall victim to the Chicken Little Syndrome, crying, “The sky is falling,” whenever you encounter some minor mishap.
The Choice Is Ours
There’s a world of difference between having an optimistic outlook and having a pessimistic one. Winston Churchill described that difference well: “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” He made his own attitude clear with these words: “For myself, I am an optimist — it does not seem to be of much use being anything else.”
For Churchill, Britain’s prime minister during its darkest days of World War II, it was that attitude, perhaps more than anything else, that served him and his people well. As the nightly Nazi bombings threatened his nation’s very existence, it was Churchill’s “Never give up” attitude that would help his countrymen not merely survive, but go on to defeat the enemy.
Enthusiasm is infectious — spread it
“What is our aim?” he asked. “I can answer with one word: Victory — victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.” Under his inspiring leadership, victory was, indeed, finally attained.
What was it that made Churchill an optimist despite the terrible conditions he faced? He did the same thing every optimist does, and what you can do as well — he chose to be one.
Optimism is simply a matter of attitude and you control your attitude.
The Electricity of Life
One characteristic that, in my experience, goes hand in hand with optimism is enthusiasm. That’s certainly been the case with the optimists I’ve known and it’s true in my life as well. In fact, enthusiasm is listed among the synonyms I found for optimism.
One of my favorite definitions of enthusiasm came from a man named Gordon Parks. He wrote, “Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit. Enthusiasm is natural; it is being alive, taking the initiative, seeing the importance of what you do, giving it dignity and making what you do important to yourself and to others.”
Here’s the take-home: there are people whose day-to-day existence is worse than the worst day of our lives. Yet they soldier on and make the best of their conditions, their illness, their trials and their suffering. If they can do this, day in and day out — how can the rest of us not approach life with “can do” enthusiasm and unyielding optimism?
