The Half Full Glass.

Pen and Ink.

I am sure there is not a single person reading this who has not at some stage or other been faced with the question is the glass half full, or is it half empty? I remember as if it were only the yesterday that I heard it for the first time. I was sitting in a primary class at the school in Rosyth. I even remember the name of the teacher, it was Miss Jackson. I probably remember the incident and the place because I had a little crush on Miss Jackson.

 She was the first and only time I felt anything very much for teachers, I hated school far too much. Maybe had I had her as my teacher for more than the one-year things just might have been different?

I remember her holding up the glass and asking the question. I was surprised because it was the first time I had heard her asked anything I found silly. It seemed so obvious to me that it was both. 

It was only when I heard the answers from fellow classmates that I saw it was not such a silly question. There was a fair mix of responses. Made me kind of glad I had kept my hand down and mouth shut because I might have looked the silly one.

I now realise of course this was a lesson on being one or the other of pessimistic or optimistic. Wonder what I was?

All my life I had seen things differently. I took home a report card that contained evidence that there were areas in my education where I was falling short. My mother, of course,e spotted straight away the low er grades. "What have you to say about this?" she asked. I had thought about this and had an answer. "Well, you can see that I have not been cheating in class."

Not sure I have ever worked out what camp I am in.

An optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist fears this is true. 

The tyre is only flat on the bottom. Says the optimist.

Winners see risk as opportunity. They see the rewards of success in advance. They do not fear the penalties of failure. The winning individual knows that bad luck is attracted by negative thinking and that an attitude of optimistic expectancy is the surest way to create an upward cycle and to attract the best of luck most of the time. 

Winners know that so-called luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity. If an individual is not prepared, he or she simply does not see or take advantage of a situation. Opportunities are always around, but only those who are prepared utilize them effectively and make the most of the chances. 

I had an interesting experience the other day at the store. I saw a checkout with no queue so joined behind the person being seen to. 

As soon as I began unloading my groceries from the trolley, the checkout girl excused herself, saying she'd be right back. 

I continued emptying my shopping when I heard a woman's voice behind me. "Pardon me," she said. "Is this checkout open, or are you just an optimist?" 

Twin boys caught the interest of a research professor. One was a born pessimist and the other an optimist. The mother assured him they had been brought up under the exact same circumstances. The professor found this very interesting. He organised an experiment, could he change their outlook? Was there anything else he could discover?

Firstly he put the pessimist in a room with all the toys and gadgets a young lad could wish for and watched him through a one-way mirror. The boy looked sad. After some time they approached and asked how he felt. His reply was that he had all of this but nobody to play with. Pessimism to the end.

The other boy was put in a virtually empty room. The only thing present was a large pile of horse manure. Again they watched. Surely this must take away the optimistic outlook? After a bit, the boy began digging in the manure and throwing it about. They entered and asked him what he was up to. His reply was, "With all this muck here there just has to be a horse somewhere."

I am hoping I am an optimist. it seems that those who maintain a positive approach to live are the happier for it. Those with a pessimistic outlook will never be happy no matter how well things look for them

Be positive and go with the flow says, Lao Tzu. How right he is. Have a wonderful day full of positive thoughts.