I'll Take Half Empty Please!

‘I’m an optimist!’

‘Always glass half full.’

Familiar right?

I mean who can argue that it’s good to be an optimist and just thinking positively increase your chances of success, help you stay healthy and definitely be a more pleasant person to be around.

Just for a moment though, let’s have another think.

Let’s say I have half a glass of water.

If I were a pessimist, I might grumble about the glass being half empty and be in some way I’d be bearish suggesting that it was all too little and that things won’t be looking up in the near future.

I get that part.

If, for any reason, you feel that way, cheer up and read till the end.

But what if I were the optimist?

Would I like to see this glass as half full and make my peace with that?

I mean there is no denying about being grateful for what we have. 

Having been born in an Indian desert (Rajasthan), I’ve seen taps run dry. Actually, I also have distinct memories of walking to the nearby ‘hand pumps’ to fill buckets of water to bring back home. So yes whether it’s the actual water or the analogy, nothing quite like gratitude to keep us grounded.

So yes, I am grateful for what I have.

But, what after that?

Shall we just sit back and enjoy what we have? Or shall we keep searching for more water?

I know, more doesn’t always mean better so just looking for more water seems a little too linear and perhaps, greedy?

So I took a hard look at the glass, and the glass looked back at me. And suddenly I realised the opportunities that the glass carries!

Not just in the ability to take the level to the top but in many other dimensions.

There is so much more to a glass of water than the level right?

So here below are some more ways to look at that half empty glass; and how the analogies translate to life.

?          Perhaps, we could get a better glass? I mean in terms of life, perhaps, I can enrich my life in ways such as giving up something I like less for something I might like more, still holding the same net amount?

 -     Or maybe, we can get a smaller glass because I don’t really need so much water? Much as we love our upgrades, downgrades can be therapeutic too.

-       Perhaps, we may find that we’re not exactly thirsty, and can consider giving the glass to someone who needs the water more than we do. As above, let’s not feed the greed, sometimes, less is progress.

-       Maybe we don’t really like the taste of the water and it may be time to add some flavour? Sometimes a dash of an ingredient could add disproportionate value to what you have.

-       Or actually, why just a liquid, perhaps we could add some ice to take the level to the top. It might give us the right level and temperature. Adding value doesn’t always mean more of the same; often quite the opposite.

I’m sure that by now you get my point that optimism in its truest sense has to be agnostic to how much or how little we have. If anything, it is an energy that is deeply connected to where we want to be which then has the power to propel our thoughts and actions.

As always, I’ll sum up with some key points:

1.         It’s okay to see the level for what it is: Contrary to the popular belief; I think it’s perfectly okay to make a realistic assessment of what we have and don’t have. After all, where reality falls short, dreams kick in.

2.         It’s not about what we have, but the direction we want to take: Continuing my story from Rajasthan, we owe it to my father that he wanted, deeply, to give us better. As with the glass analogy, progress comes in many forms. He chose one, which was to relocate.

3.         Finally, if all we do is stare at the glass, what we have is likely to evaporate: Whatever the dream, it needs to be followed with action. About the glass, even if we increase the level by a drop a day, one day soon, it will fill up.

Cheers!

Here’s to a lot more progress, whichever way you define it.

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