Half Empty or Half Full?

Once a Math teacher was teaching the class of 5 years old kids.

He asked one of the kid, “If I give you 1 Orange then 2 more Oranges”.

“How many Oranges will you have with you”?

 Boy replied confidently: "4".

 The teacher was shocked as the question was very simple addition, he had taught the class of kids very well in last 6 months and he was expecting “3” as answer.

 He thought may be kid did not listen the question very well, so he said to the kid,

"It is very simple question, please listen carefully and you will be get the correct answer”.

 Kid said, “Ok, Sir, will listen carefully and answer correctly”.

 The teacher said, "If I will give you 1 Orange and then 2 more Oranges. How many Oranges will you have with you?”.

 The kid counted on finger and then replied: “4”.

 The teacher felt disappointed, as he had taught the class very well for many months.

Then, he thought, let me change my approach, I will use example of Chocolates instead of Oranges, then the kid will answer correctly, as kids love chocolates.

So he said, "I will you 1 Chocolate and 2 more Chocolates, then how many Chocolates will you have with you?"

 The kid calculated on his finger and replied “3”.

Teacher said, “Well done! this is the right answer”.

He felt happy, as his approach of using Chocolate worked and the kid answered correctly.

So, once again he asked him, "Now , I give you 1 Orange and then 2 more Oranges. How many Oranges will you have with you?

The kid answered promptly, "4".

 The teacher got irritated this time, as the question was same but with different object (Chocolate vs Orange), so he asked the kid in irritating voice, How 4? Tell me, How?"

The kid replied innocently, "Sir, because you gave me 3 Oranges and I already have 1 Orange in my lunch box”.

Some people see the glass half full, some others see it half empty, the reality is it is the same glass with same amount of water, but approach to look is different.

The moral of story is:

 Sometimes, others see the same thing from different approach, and we receive the answer different than the one we were expecting. It is not always that they are wrong. Possibly, their perspective is different.

There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can sometimes obscure the truth.

Our perspectives shape how we act or react in a situation. The right approach is to ask and understand the things from their perspective, and show them your perspective, before jumping to the conclusion.

Cheers!!