I read a really interesting article in Time Magazine entitled “The Optimism Bias.” Here’s a quote to give you an idea of the article.
The belief that the future will be much better than the past and present is known as the optimism bias. It abides in every race, region and socioeconomic bracket. Schoolchildren playing when-I-grow-up are rampant optimists, but so are grownups: a 2005 study found that adults over 60 are just as likely to see the glass half full as young adults.
You might expect optimism to erode under the tide of news about violent conflicts, high unemployment, tornadoes and floods and all the threats and failures that shape human life. Collectively we can grow pessimistic — about the direction of our country or the ability of our leaders to improve education and reduce crime. But private optimism, about our personal future, remains incredibly resilient. A survey conducted in 2007 found that while 70% thought families in general were less successful than in their parents’ day, 76% of respondents were optimistic about the future of their own family.
Overly positive assumptions can lead to disastrous miscalculations — make us less likely to get health checkups, apply sunscreen or open a savings account, and more likely to bet the farm on a bad investment. But the bias also protects and inspires us: it keeps us moving forward rather than to the nearest high-rise ledge. Without optimism, our ancestors might never have ventured far from their tribes and we might all be cave dwellers, still huddled together and dreaming of light and heat.
Interesting isn’t it? I tend to be a glass half-full kind of guy, but to be honest with you I’ve noticed that sometimes I’m externally pessimistic while internally optimistic. I think I’m so afraid of letting people down that I’ll often paint a worst-case scenario so that the people around me will be pleasantly surprised if things work out. I like being the underdog. Am I alone?
The rub comes in leadership. I think authentic leadership requires you to walk a very fine line between reality and possibility. I’ve talked before about the “Art of Possibility.”
The art of possibility says if you lead a church, an organization, a small business, or a family, you need to be aware that the people following you desperately want and need to be led. They need you to define reality, but they also need you to practice the art of possibility.
They need not be told what is likely, apparent, or impending, for those things are obvious to the average person. They need to be reminded of what they cannot see on their own. They need to be reminded of what just might happen against all odds.
Anyway, here’s what I want to know. You don’t have to explain unless you want to, I just need two words from you.
Are you a half-full or half-empty kind of person?
Neither.
In all my arrogance I’ll quote myself from a post during a difficult time, wish this was always my attitude.
Some people see the glass half empty… some half full… and some of us have come to realize that it is an absolute miracle there is even a glass to hold water at all.
Love that Jessica.
I absolutely love this!!!
I am a glass half full kind of guy. I am an optimist for sure. I enjoy living with a sense of hope and excitement, even when times are tough, I know there is hope, peace, and joy that can be found.
I was saying in my head what your paragraph said underneath the quote. I can be negative with my speech but I am optimistic on the inside.
I think I have a lot of habits I picked up from my childhood that I am slowly getting rid of.
I am quiet about it but I am totally optimistic. I wake up each morning and think that the day is going to be great. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m wrong. But I am also a realist and know that not everyday can be without it’s stresses.
Your “art of possibility” link doesn’t lead anywhere.
Thanks David. Think I fixed it.
To boil it down to two words is a little difficult for me. I would say I’m generally the half-full type, but with a “realist” slant. So I may not always see the glass as half-full or half-empty, but I see there is something in the glass (unlike my coffee cup right now) & recognize the great potential for both growth & loss.
That’s where I land, maybe it’s a cop out, I don’t know.
half empty. and going down. man, i gotta do something about that, huh?
half full to others. to myself I am always looking at worse case scenario…
I’m trying so hard to be a half full but dealing with the aftermath of a divorce that I did not want has me struggling every day against the pull of being a half empty.
Half-full
I am definitely a glass half full personality. I try not to live looking through rose colored glasses, but I do beleive that being optomistic makes for a happier life. I still try to prepare for the bad things that happen in life, but trusting that when they do happen, God will make a way through them…:)
Half full. But this nailed me…
“I tend to be a glass half full kind of guy, but to be honest with you I’ve noticed that sometimes I’m externally pessimistic while internally optimistic. I think I’m so afraid of letting people down that I’ll often paint a worse case scenario so that the people around me will be pleasantly surprised if things work out. I like being the underdog. Am I alone?”
You’re not alone
Great post Pete.
On a side note praying for Cross Point, the Hodges and all the new people that will be reached. We will miss them!
Thank you Ron.
half -full
Is it wrong to say, it depends on the situation Pete?
In 90% of the things that are in my life, I am VERY half-full. But in some areas like in difficult relationships, I am very half -empty.
Nope, not wrong at all. I think I’m probably the same way.
half full
I agree with your opinion. Not that you asked or anything.
half full
For me, it depends on the purpose of the glass and the relationship between that purpose and the quantity within the glass. If the purpose requires a full glass, I see it as half empty and if it requires an empty glass, I see it as half full. Being a decidedly non-optimist, I tend to see the condition or status of everything as an obstacle to the optimal.
You just took this discussion to a whole different level.
half full (P.S. side note question that isn’t a big deal at all, but my attention to detail makes me what to ask – did you intentionally us “hall” instead of “half” when asking “Are you a hall full…”?)
Good catch. Just fixed it.
Great, thoughtful post Pete!
You tapped into an area I struggle with almost every day in running Love146. I often find myself wrestling with extraordinary stories of hope and despair, darkness and light, compassion and indifference, love and hate. I have found this thought by William Sloan Coffin Jr. to be helpful in keeping my head above water and the glass from emptying:
“Hope is a state of mind independent of the state of the world. If your heart’s full of hope, you can be persistent when you can’t be optimistic. You can keep the faith despite the evidence, knowing that only in so doing has the evidence any chance of changing. So while I’m not optimistic, I’m always very hopeful.”-William Sloane Coffin Jr.
Thanks again Pete!
-Rob
Completely full. The glass may be half full of air, and half empty of water, but it is completely full. Life is full, completely full.
Half-full
Variation: There are times when we grumble because blackberries have thorns. I understand that, I do! There is no arguing that the scratches they cause are nasty. I am, however, thankful that thorns have blackberries! Therein lies the incentive to face the thorns and get through it.
Half full
half full!
What is this talk of emptiness?
The opimist thinks things will improve in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
The pessimist believes things are worse than they really are. Which to me seems to be an impossibility.
The glass is what it is. I view the glass as half-full.
I am constantly trying my best to be a positive and optimistic force. Bringing that type of spirit into a room can be a blessing.
i’m definitely half full. to the point where i’m almost stupidly optimistic… but i trust enough that even if it doesn’t work out the way i want, it’s still working out in my favor.
The half-empty people tend to be Murphy’s Law kind of people, which sometimes I am.
Can you be a Murphy’s Law believer if you’re a Christian?
Half empty. I can remember the days I used to be half full and I’m working o get back into that mindset. It’s certainly a better way to live looking at half full versus half empty.
Glass half-full. When life gives you lemons attempt to make lemonade, when that doesn’t work drink diet coke! Seriously, I always ask myself “What is the worst thing that can happen?” God is with me through everything and He is never surprised!
I’m totally a “half-full” kinda girl, but I have a specific question with regards to leadership. My husband is the youth pastor of our church for 7 years (which is like 50 years in youth ministry – youth ministry years are like dog years), and has had a growing, effective, amazing-in-the-way-only-God-can-get-the-credit-for kind of ministry. But God is calling us to a different church, and we’re letting the current church know on Sunday. For your average “angst filled” teenager, I know this news can be devastating. How can we communicate “hope” and God’s perfect plan for them does not involve us?? Would love any tips that any of your readers could share. I know I’m going to be having a lot of emotion filled conversations in the next few weeks, and I want to lead them in a way that will honor God
Deep down, I am a half-full – but right above that, and out into the external…I can be downright half-empty at times. The times I get like this are when I hit a wall of depression or frustration. Yet, amidst it all, I really am a half-full kind of gal. God is bringing it forth more and more, because I want to live in the way He created me to live (and be). I’ve let the external of this world affect my external shell so much…but I have had to realize this as my choice to let it affect me, and understand this is not who God created me to be. I am exercising my half-full viewpoint more and more lately – and it helps when I immerse myself in half-full viewpoints like in great books, Scripture, other people, music, movies and shows.
In my family this question comes up a lot and for me and one of my sisters… the glass is not half full, not have empty…it’s just half. It is what it is.