On a first date, a man asked if I was a glass-half-full or half-empty kind of gal. Although a tad trite, no one else had asked directly if I was optimistic or pessimistic. I wondered who would admit to the latter, although I know some are attracted to others who share a negative world view.
I am drawn to positive people, those who aren’t stopped by obstacles, but look for ways around them. People who don’t focus on what’s missing as long as what is present brings you satisfaction.
My friend, the outstanding motivational speaker W Mitchell was in a blazing motorcycle accident, leaving him with devastating burns over 65% of his body. Four years later he survived a paralyzing plane crash.
He learned to choose to look at the positives in life rather than the negatives. In his speeches, he says, “Before the accidents, I could do 10,000 things. Now I can do 9000. I can bemoan the 1000 I can’t do now, or I can relish the 9000.” Mitchell definitely sees the glass half full.
I dated a man for months who focused on the few things we didn’t enjoy together, rather than the dozens of things we did. I can understand if your love doesn’t like to do things that are important to you — things that are critical to your enjoying life. But if your sweetie likes to do lots of what you like to do, then why focus on the few things you don’t share a love for? This man was a half-empty kind of guy.
Which are you — half-empty or half-full? Why? And if you’re like me — mostly half-full although there are some things that I absolutely must have in my life — what won’t you compromise, no matter how many things you have in common?
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Comments
2 responses to “Glass half full or empty?”
What a great topic!
I was born a worrier, and like my dad, tended to look on the gray side. However life in its myriad unfoldings, twists and challenges has taught me that worry about what’s to come or what has been is really not useful at all; nor is dwelling on what shoulda, coulda, woulda…Kicking and screaming I’ve become much more philosophical about disappointments, and have truly begun to see that all I have is this moment in time. I can choose to squander it with negativity or embrace it with joy. And paradoxically enough, I’ve learned to be joyful because of the hard lessons!
I don’t know if any of this made sense to anyone but me =)
Great post! I really enjoy your blog.
I am like Sherri…a constant worrier…I try to keep it under control but its ugly head does emerge.
There was one gentleman that I was getting to know and we each compiled a list of our positive traits and negative ones….I found it to be very interesting. Of course I did not pay attention to the negative ones till later in the relationship when a light bulb went off….”oh yea he said he was like this”.