Seeing Beyond 'Half-Full/Half-Empty'

When I was young, I was like a lot of kids in that I could never seem to get enough of what I wanted. My mother would often remind me that my glass is always half-full. Of course, she was trying to make me understand that I already had so much. However, it wasn't until I got older that I came to fully appreciate the significance of this metaphor.

Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

The standard explanation that we've all heard is that the optimist sees the water and the pessimist sees the empty space – but I'm not so sure that's true. In my mind, a true optimist and visionary sees both, and realizes it's all good.

I like to think of my life as a perpetually half-full/half-empty glass.

The half-full part is made up of all of the things that enrich my life at the moment—the people I have surrounded myself with, the accomplishments and ongoing projects, and all the things that keep me engaged and on purpose. I am continually trying to purify what I have in my glass to give me the most nourishment for my mind and soul.

At the same time, though, I find the half-empty part exciting and inspiring. To me, it represents possibilities for all the things to enrich my life that are still to come. As long as I have that available space, I have the capacity to grow and experience even more great things.

And the thing is, as long as you approach life in this way, you will ALWAYS have the space. The more you do and the more you learn, the greater your capacity to welcome new forms of enrichment. In that sense, the glass never becomes full; you just keep getting a bigger glass.