Are you a "glass 1/2 empty " or "glass 1/2 full" person?

[Snapdragon]

I am curious about peoples' personal experiences of being an optimistic or pessimistic person.  I am trying to be more optimistic in life, but I tend to see what;s wrong in things more than i want to, and to worry too much! My dh is an optimist, and strangely my parents have become more and more optimistic as life goes on! Dh's family are also quite happy and optimistic, so I am happy to see optimistic happy people in my life. But it still takes a lot of work for me, and pessimism comes more easily. I am pretty happy on many levels- happy with things and people in my life and mostly with myself. But I just tend to find life inherently overwhelming with hard sad things, not my life per se but life as a whole. I find that there are so many things to be sad about- environmentally, etcetera, that I have to work really hard to try to remember to stay focused on what is good. I also focus on my own problems sometimes so much that I miss all the good going on in my life sometimes. So I am trying to practice and learn how to look less at the bad and more at the good, as I realize that both seem to be present in many situations.

So what about you? Are you a glass half empty or full person? I want to have some discussion on this, and find ways people have found to feel happy despite challenges and sadness in life.

Edited by Snapdragon - 4/12/11 at 7:22pm

[MamaofLiam]

It really depends. Some days I'm glass half full and some days I'm glass half empty. I try to be positive but sometimes I'm not. I think that's normal. I don't know anyone who's always happy and positive all the time. I too sometimes feel overwhelmed by things on a larger scale, e.g., environment, natural disasters, etc. But for me it really is day to day.

[woodchick]

I was just thinking today that my Senior Title (do we still have those?) should be, Incurable Pollyanna.  I am hopelessly optimistic.  I can see the negatives in most situations, but my brain immediately sets about finding solutions.  I exhaust myself sometimes trying to solve things that I should really just be left alone.

I'm also very trusting and tend to think the best of people, which has gotten me into trouble in the past. Nothing major, hurt feelings and such.

My faith in God is a huge part of my life and gives me peace when confronted with the ills of the world.

I have found that the more I focus on things beyond myself and less on my own issues the happier I become. Volunteering, making and giving gifts, participating in Church and various groups keeps me from settling in and stewing in my own issues.

I also try to avoid the news.  I watch some at the gym in the mornings, but emotionally I can't handle much more than that.

[Daffodil]

I'm definitely an optimist, but I don't know what makes me one.  Probably I just got lucky with my brain chemistry.  You might want to look into a book called Learned Optimism, or read about the research showing that keeping a gratitude journal helps make people happier and more optimistic.

[Linda on the move]

by nature and upbringing I'm a "glass is half empty" gal, but I've worked on it and I'm a much more positive person now. It really is something we can change about ourselves.

I keep a gratitude journal, and every night at dinner each member of my family says one thing about their day that they are grateful for.

I used to listen to Louise Hay morning and evening meditation tapes and they are GREAT for re-training your brain to be more positive and forgiving.

I also find doing volunteer work to be very uplifting, but I'm not sure how practical that would be for you right now. There's something about doing something with other people that makes a difference in the world that makes it almost impossible to stay negative. Cuz even though things are screwed up, they are little bit better because of what YOU have done. That's something to be pretty happy about!

[Galatea]

If I am taking care of myself, I am optimistic.  If I am not taking care of myself, I am pessimistic.  Taking care of myself = sleeping, exercising, loafing occasionally, visiting friends, etc.

On cosmological issues, I am optimistic.  I am sure the human race will get itself to a happy Star Trek: The Next Generation future.  This has never changed and maybe it is b/c of watching way too much Star Trek all my life.  :-)

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

by nature and upbringing I'm a "glass is half empty" gal, but I've worked on it and I'm a much more positive person now. It really is something we can change about ourselves.

I keep a gratitude journal, and every night at dinner each member of my family says one thing about their day that they are grateful for.

I used to listen to Louise Hay morning and evening meditation tapes and they are GREAT for re-training your brain to be more positive and forgiving.

I also find doing volunteer work to be very uplifting, but I'm not sure how practical that would be for you right now. There's something about doing something with other people that makes a difference in the world that makes it almost impossible to stay negative. Cuz even though things are screwed up, they are little bit better because of what YOU have done. That's something to be pretty happy about!

I'd agree with this post.  It wasn't my upbringing (my dad is who originally exposed me to the power of positive thinking and books like it)  I was a glass half empty person until about 8 years ago when I started reading Florence Scovel Shinn, Esther Hicks, Napolean Hill, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer et al.  Now I am most definitely a glass half full person and it's totally effortless.  I still get knocked off my game (such is life!) but the difference is that I self-right very quickly.  I don't need external help, or someone to talk to etc.  I can change my thoughts on my own and it rarely takes very long. 

Love using affirmations and prayer, I love keeping gratitude journals, and I love seeing problems as life lessons-things that are happening to challenge and help me.  I don't always know why in the moment, but in hindsight it's generally clear.  Enough times of acknowledging that you can easily assume it's the case and not stress too hard.

I do have my faith on my side as well, which is a strong foundation for me, and one for which I am grateful.  I believe there's a bigger plan and that helps *me* to be more optimistic.  I agree fully with woodchick that having a sense of responsibility to something/someone outside yourself is huge.  Volunteering, participating in activities for the benefit of others etc. is a huge help in changing one's mindset.  (And I LOVE Pollyanna!  We just watched it for the first time as a family and my kids loved it too-it was one of my favorites growing up!)

[philomom]

Yep, glass is always half full or more.

In fact, I'm a bit of Pollyanna with a realist twist. I just found my daughter a special event dress at the thrift store for six dollars. My chickens are doing great and my hubby returned safe from a long trip. Sure, we could have more money for bills or retirement but at 40 ish.. we've still got a bit of time to launch the kids and batten down the hatches for retirement.

[journeymom]

This is a great thread.  I'm a 'half-empty' person. I get knocked down and have a very difficult time righting myself. 

I think I'm afraid of looking like Stuart Smalley (I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!).    

Will look into Florence Scovel Shinn, Esther Hicks, Napolean Hill, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer.

[marinak1977]

I am a cynical glass half-full person. I can get discouraged and depressed by the world, but I have accepted a view that every moment I have is a gift and I need to cherish all the good things. That really helps me keep going.

[2lilsweetfoxes]

I usually think "glass 1/2 full" then promptly knock it over (ie, get smacked upside the head by life/reality).  (Or what is it?  Take the glass, half-filled, and drink  it)  "Now it is all the way empty."

[nathansmum]

I see myself as a 1/2 glass full kind of person. I really don't know how that is though.

I did a lot of personal development during my early 20s in particular and read Louise Hay, creative visualisation, meditation type books, and in recent years I continue to read law of attraction, communication, buddhism, paganism, and uplifting type books. I tend seek out like-minded people (not even with intent, just kind of happens).

I am a "fixer". If I get down about something (environmental for example or health issues), I can't help but flick into fix-it mode and write up lists of things I can do to help me and my family prepare. I steer away from reading doomer kind of things for the most part. Once I've done my research into a certain area, I let go of the intense stuff and move into living-in-the-moment as much as I can. Simplifying life and living simply has been a big part of feeling happy and fulfilled.

I naturally seem to see the good in things in life, don't expect bad things to happen, and generally believe that others have good intent until proven otherwise.

[meemee]

i was born an inherently optimistic person. always hopeful. during my teenage years i was uber naive.

today i am a closer to be a well balanced person than ever before. 

i have been in really hard places and had the wind knocked out of me. 

and really that's what made me even more optimistic. 

turning 40 is what really did it for me. for me there was something huge about turning 40. suddenly who i wanted to be... i could achieve pretty easily rather than struggle. its when you've been kicked to the ground and you get up - that's what set me up for life. 

today for me optimism and depression are the same coin - just different sides. 

life is an adventure and there is so much joy and peace in just little things. 

i tried doing the gratitude journal and all that but i couldnt. it felt v. false to me. instead what i have is gratitude right there and then. for the blue sky. teh puffy clouds. for the sudden windfall that lets me pay my bills. 

its not that i try to be optimistic. i dont try anything. i just try to survive every minute of my being and have an experience - good or bad. 

the good and bad is what makes my life adventorous. without that i might as well be dead. life has taught me right after happiness comes sadness and right after sadness comes happiness. i experience life as a cycle. so i no longer choose based on emotional outcome. instead i base life on doing something challenging. if its a positive experience i enjoy it. if its a sad one i really sit down and be with the pain - experience the down fully and then i wait for the positive which i know is just round the corner. 

my biggest learning experience was my marriage breaking down and being a single mom. if i could survive that then i can survive anything. what i thought was bad, sad, unfortunate - turned out to be an opening and the best thing that happened to me. i have never been that sad or that fearful again. 

[kayleesmom]

i am a pessimist.(sp?)

[*bejeweled*]

I am a glass 1/2 full woman. For sure.

Things that help me tremendously:

*keeping a journal
*taking time for myself (resting, taking naps, being alone)
*reading Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle and the Bible
*letting go and letting God
*saying "No" often
*simplifying my life
*enjoying the moment
*knowing that all things pass
Edited by *bejeweled* - 9/7/11 at 10:56am

[serenbat]

I am a half full! really far more but not near the brim

I find that I can not stand to be around 1/2 empty people (and the depression many bring to the table) also this really stuck out-

But I just tend to find life inherently overwhelming with hard sad things, not my life per se but life as a whole. 

I find a lot of people "bubble" themselves (another thing - I tend to not be able to be around these people- and by that I mean have them close in my life) -by this (I mean)- those that keep so much of what is happening in the real world sooooooo far away from themselves - by doing so they tend to be very happy people- just void of real life- for many this is how they get by---only dealing with what is in their own little world and blocking out the rest, such as many who don't read or follow much news- keeping all negative things at bay--for many this is the only way to live but I see those who also dwell too deeply on such matter their cup seem to always be half empty- IMO

when ever one takes something to an extreme that it effects their daily thoughts-IMO they are doing more harm to themselves 

Those who I have found - IRL and in the other world as well, who view their cup as 1/2 empty also don't see much beyond the current moment, IMO, when you can't look for the future you can't hope to fill up at glass!

[Imakcerka]

I don't do well around 1/2 empty people. I'm def half full. And I'm glad I'm that way. Not sure how though as my mom is 1/2 empty and so are most of my family... no wonder why they can't stand me!

[philomom]

Originally Posted by Imakcerka 

I don't do well around 1/2 empty people. I'm def half full. And I'm glad I'm that way. Not sure how though as my mom is 1/2 empty and so are most of my family... no wonder why they can't stand me!

I have an aunt for whom the glass is always empty and lacking in something. I can hardly stand to be in the same room with her. The constant complaining is horrid to my ears.

[Storm Bride]

I try to be a glass half full type, but I'm very easily knocked back, so I spend a lot of time in glass half empty land.

I always hear about how volunteering helps, but I don't seem to be cut out for it at all. I try, but it's not something that comes naturally to me, and it seems to cause me more stress than anything else. I want to do it. I want to teach my kids to do it. But, the reality is just flipping overwhelming and I always feel as though I'm screwing it up and letting people down.

But, I do try to focus on all the pluses in life. I've got a wonderful husband, a secure place to live, a mostly great neighbourhood (both people and amenities (grocery stores within reasonable walking distance, lots of playgrounds, short driving distance to all kinds of amazing things for the kids, woods and a river pretty much in my back yard, etc.), some really, amazingly good friends, and four healthy, wonderful children. I'm freaking rich, in every way that I think counts, so I don't have a whole lot to bitch about (not that the lack always stops me ).

[IwannaBanRN]

It really depends on what's going on with my life and how I view it. I could be either or at any given time.