There Is No Glass

Is the glass half full or half empty?  That is the proverbial question.

My dad raised me to be a contrary thinker.  When the stock market has been going up for three or four years he’ll say, “Be careful.  Nothing goes up forever.”  This is why, for me, the glass is not half full.  But it’s not half empty either.  It’s just a symbol.  There is no real glass.  Your perceptions are in your mind, not in the glass.

This brings me to my favorite quotation which is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

The glass itself is not good or bad. What’s in it is neither good nor bad.  Nor is the fullness of the glass good or bad.  It merely is what it is.

So why do we talk about a glass as “half full” or “half empty”?  Because we believe that if we are optimistic (and perceive the glass to be half full) we will get more of what we want, and if we are pessimistic (and see the glass as half empty) we will get less of what we want.

I agree with both. Why not? And if our perceptions can influence a potential result then we should choose to be optimistic. I still remember Herman, a friend in high school, who said to a female classmate, “I don’t suppose you’d like to go out with me.”  Talk about a negative self-fulfilling prophecy! Needless to say, he got no date.

I follow another adage in my life.  “Expect the best, but plan for the worst.”  By doing that my outlook and expectations are positive, and I feel positive about the future.  But if something goes wrong I’ll be ready.

One of my own business sayings is, “Avoid disasters.” If you see an iceberg on the horizon you need to be ready to change the course of the ship. I believe you can remain optimistic and still course correct as needed.

Enjoy the coming holiday season, but remember things go better when you make plans.  It won’t always “just happen”.

I’m planning to fill my glass with eggnog.

Alan