Is the Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty?
It's such a interesting concept. Are you a “glass half-full” or a “glass half-empty” kind of person? This is a concept that really belies two limitations and it would be fun to analyze!
The first limitation is the idea that one is a positive out look and the other is a negative outlook. This is not necessarily the case. For a example, a “half-full glass” could represent a holding onto of a past problem or issue. It could be an unwillingness to let go and therefore and unwillingness to move on. And, a “half-empty glass” could represent the potential for new opportunity. It is the ability to grow and change. In this case, the whole situation could be a frustrating quagmire. It could be the combination of two diametrically opposed conditions in which advancement in either direction is impossible. Or, it could be just the opposite, meaning that one now has the ability to make a choice one way or the other and they can either refill or empty the glass all together, because the second limitation of this ideal, is that one only has the ability decide what thinks or how one feel about what life offers, when in fact our role is much greater.
It is true that this line if thinking is good because it encourages to people to think on how they are relating to life rather than allowing life itself to dictate their response to it; however, there is a reality beyond this one. Not only can we choose how we respond to life and its events, but our choices have a direct effect in shaping those very events. Our current circumstances are a result of every choice we have made in the past and the more responsibility we are willing to accept for those circumstances the more willing we are to see and accept the choices that resulted in those circumstances, which means we have now re-owned the power of our own decision making and now have the freedom to make different decisions and take our life in a completely new direction.
In the glass example. We are not only the one viewing the glass and deciding what it means to us, we are also the one holding the glass and we are, in fact, the one with the hand on the tap. What we chose to do or not do is entirely up to us at all times. Choose to accept responsibly for your current circumstances and in so doing take ownership over your life.