A popular question from positive attitude enthusiasts is:
Is the glass half full or half empty? 
When you look at your glass half full you are considered to have a good attitude. It goes along with the adage: Life gives you lemons- make lemonade.
When you look at your glass and say that it is half empty all of a sudden, you are labeled as negative. You must be a pessimist. You must have a bad attitude. You know, the ones that complain about the lemons.
But is this really a fair way to do your positive attitude check up?
How about if you are just being logical or reasonable?
How you look at the glass depends on the circumstances- like most things in life- It all depends.
The logical conclusion to the question is that it is either neither or both. When you are pouring something into your glass, it is half full.
When you are drinking from your glass, it is half empty.
And then you can come to another conclusion:
The glass is neither half empty nor every half full because it is always full.
If it is half full of liquid, the rest of the glass is filled with air.
If you are a pilot and you are in flight to your destination, look at your fuel gauge and it is in the middle between full and empty:
Do you look down at the gauge and say-" Oh, I have a whole half of a tank of fuel left! No problem! My tank is half full!"
Or do you look at the gauge and say, "Oh, my tank is half empty. I had better start looking on where I can land to refuel."
The responsible thinking is the pilot looking for a place to land and refuel. Because he should refuel- his tank is half empty. Is he being negative or logical?
It would be unrealistic to expect him to think any differently. So it is in life, in families and in your business.
The board of wisdom site says that "The glass is neither half-full nor half- empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be." author unknown
But we can also look at the glass from a totally difference perspective:
What if you look at the glass as half empty and therefore are motivated to go and get it filled? 
Would that not be positive instead of negative? And what if seeing it as half-full leads to complacency? The person who sees his life as a glass half-empty and that motivates him to change his life- isn't that now a positive rather than a negative?
There is a lot of meaning in emptiness. Tao writings contain a chapter on:
the importance of emptiness and that the empty glass is opportunity and therefore the person viewing the glass as empty is actually positive and not negative.
The lower part of the glass that is full would mean that another drop could not fit into that space. Yet the glass half empty would mean that there is much to fill. Emptiness is not nothingness.
The part of your life you have not lived yet are empty pages waiting for you to take the pen into your hand and write your own story. Those empty pages are your opportunity.
I am one who often gives the benefit of the doubt. Nestor is the one who works from reason and looks at reality. Most of the time he is right. I want to say he made it so through his thinking but you can not 'make' other people's thoughts.
There is a time and a place for positive attitudes and fortunately that is most of the time. However, negative thoughts often times are warning signals that your tank may just be half empty and you need to quickly look for a refueling station.
Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.*Is Your Glass Half-Full Or Half-Empty? A Different Paradigm!*
This is a great thought provoking post. I love the quote by Tao.
Excellent post, it is amazing how the same problem can be so different to two different people. . it is just how you perceive it and deal with it.
Based on this well written post I've read a few of your other posts and "subscribed." Next time I need a refueling station, may come back here for inspiration.
Perception is everything. Thanks for the lovely post.
The part of your life you have not lived yet are empty pages waiting for you to take the pen into your hand and write your own story.
Personally, this is my favorite part of your post. I often hear people say, "Oh, I can't do this or I can't do that because FILL IN THE BLANK WITH EXCUSE." We can pretty much do whatever we make up our minds to do.
I just use a shot glass. They are much easier to refill, and after a while you're not too worried anyway.
Malcolm- LOL! Thanks for the laugh!
Elizabeth- My favorite part too! It is such a disease, entitlement and excuses! We are all given amazing talents and we are expected to multiply them for ourselves, our families, our communities and the world.
Katerina,
Great post! There are different ways of looking at things and of course that does not mean it is necessarily negative.
Keep up the great posts!
Brigita
I like this post very much for a few reasons.
One, it is vital to be proactive, not just positive. Think ahead to plan away disasters.
Two, "The part of your life you have not lived yet are empty pages waiting for you to take the pen into your hand and write your own story." This is a most hopeful approach to life!
Three, talking about the facts is not negative! Your attitude toward the facts is the key.
I'm walking away knowing that Empty pages are my opportunites for the day. How smart, Katerina. But I wouldn't expect anything less of you.
Man, I just read Paul Slaybaugh's post, and now I have to deal with Taoism, too?? After reading you and Paul, all I can say is, right now I need a glass of wine - half full or half empty, it makes no difference, it's still the same amount. Thanks for making me think outside the...glass.
You always remind me to think forward and I love you for that!
Jamey
I think you may have filled a few tanks to the top with this post.