Glass Half Empty or Glass Half Full?

 

Let me start by asking you a very famous question. You see the picture above, right? Is the water in that glass half empty or half full? 

Now, the common notion is that if you say half empty, you are a pessimistic person and if you say half full, you are rather optimistic. But I tell you, this is just a complete blunder.

You see, to answer if the glass is half empty or half full, one has to be aware of its initial state. If water is poured into an empty glass, then it's safe to say that the glass is half full now. But if half the water in the glass was drunk or poured out, then the glass is half empty now. Let me get to the point without beating around the bush much. It's perspective that truly matters.

It's whether the glass was first full or empty that can provide an apt answer. A person who has been drained of everything in him being pessimistic is not a surprise. At the same time. someone who has embodied resilience being optimistic in nature is quite natural. Optimism and pessimism are based on each individual's perception of the things around them. It's their own experiences and the lessons that they've been taught that shape the way they think. It's the context of the situation at hand and the life situation an individual is in that defines their actions. Someone who is a good person in my life might be a villain in someone else's. Even though I'd rage out at a person who has done me wrong, my friend might remain calm and talk through it rationally because she has been through enough of it. Maybe if the context of the wrongdoing was far graver, even that friend who seeks to be calm would end up being a raging storm.

It's all about perspective. It's all about how me and you and every single person in this world view things from our own point of view. When I see a person with maroon nail polish, I'm instantly reminded of my mother because that's the colour she always chooses. But to you or someone else, the maroon nail polish would mean something else or nothing at all because you either have something else associated with it or you do not really have anything significant to attach to it. Take another instance where in my point of view, my best friend might be the best person in the whole entire world but to some other person, she may not even seem remotely deserving of that title. Haven't you noticed how sad songs appear to be sadder when you're in more of a melancholic mood but when you're happy, they do not affect you as much? Songs are indeed only as sad as the listener.

It's how we look at things that define it all for us. It's basic human instinct. We see what we want to see. We hear what we want to hear. We take things the way we want to take it. It's who we are that makes our opinion of our surroundings and others. Because it's just like Steve Maraboli said,

"You will always define events in a manner which will validate your agreement with reality."