January 24, 2016
The old Glass Half Full / Glass Half Empty, Optimist / Pessimist meme:
Lately I've been thinking a lot about this. I've come to realize it isn't just about ideals. It's about habits.
Of course we all know Optimism is "the right answer", that we should all try to be optimistic. But in my life, I have met a lot of people who, while they may espouse optimism, are by deeds pessimists. Indeed, the ones who are most vocal about optimism are often, in reality, the least optimistic.
They're vocal because they're preaching to themselves, dissociating, displacing, and projecting. They talk about what they need, not necessarily what they have.
The experience can be very confusing because, since they espouse Optimism, we presume we're dealing with optimists, that everybody is on the same page. The reality can be that they're disguised pessimists, posers, pretenders, wolves in sheep's clothing. To know whether someone is really an optimist, it's necessary to look beyond words, to deeds.
I've come to notice how we view the glass through the lens of our habits: if you're a producer or a giver, if you're habitually providing, replenishing, and refilling, then of course the glass appears half full to you. On the other hand, if you're a consumer or a taker, if you're habitually depleting or using up (did you know that "abuse" means "use up"?), then it appears half empty.
I've also noticed that the real optimists aren't talking about optimism or pessimism, whether the glass is half full or half empty, because producing, providing, replenishing, and adding is a lot of work. They're too busy working to participate in such discussions.
So it isn't really about Pessimism or Optimism. It's about consuming or producing, depleting or replenishing, taking or giving, subtracting or adding, abusing or nourishing, deficit or surplus, loss or profit.
It's about habits. More than professed ideals, our habits determine how we REALLY see the glass.
Kris Freeberg, Economist
Making End$ Meet
The old Glass Half Full / Glass Half Empty, Optimist / Pessimist meme:
Lately I've been thinking a lot about this. I've come to realize it isn't just about ideals. It's about habits.
Of course we all know Optimism is "the right answer", that we should all try to be optimistic. But in my life, I have met a lot of people who, while they may espouse optimism, are by deeds pessimists. Indeed, the ones who are most vocal about optimism are often, in reality, the least optimistic.
They're vocal because they're preaching to themselves, dissociating, displacing, and projecting. They talk about what they need, not necessarily what they have.
The experience can be very confusing because, since they espouse Optimism, we presume we're dealing with optimists, that everybody is on the same page. The reality can be that they're disguised pessimists, posers, pretenders, wolves in sheep's clothing. To know whether someone is really an optimist, it's necessary to look beyond words, to deeds.
I've come to notice how we view the glass through the lens of our habits: if you're a producer or a giver, if you're habitually providing, replenishing, and refilling, then of course the glass appears half full to you. On the other hand, if you're a consumer or a taker, if you're habitually depleting or using up (did you know that "abuse" means "use up"?), then it appears half empty.
I've also noticed that the real optimists aren't talking about optimism or pessimism, whether the glass is half full or half empty, because producing, providing, replenishing, and adding is a lot of work. They're too busy working to participate in such discussions.
So it isn't really about Pessimism or Optimism. It's about consuming or producing, depleting or replenishing, taking or giving, subtracting or adding, abusing or nourishing, deficit or surplus, loss or profit.
It's about habits. More than professed ideals, our habits determine how we REALLY see the glass.
Kris Freeberg, Economist
Making End$ Meet
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Here is Aesop's fable about the Ant and the Grasshopper. It turns out many of us are grasshoppers who could use a little help getting in touch with our "Inner Ant." For help getting in touch with your "Inner Ant", please contact us.