Is the glass half empty or is it half full?

Well, I guess it depends on the day. Typically, I hear people say “half full,” knowing the background of the famous question but I don’t think people really feel the answer they give.

Every now and then I walk around school with my headphones in to try and be a fly on the wall and observe people. The most common things I hear from people are complaints and hateful remarks. The faces people have are off-track or irked. I thought it was just my school or kids my age but when I go to Walmart or the mall it’s the same thing.

Why are people so upset? Are we trained to think this way or is it natural?

I understand everyone has struggles that they go through as well as I do, but I try to look towards the positive of every situation.

Just the other day I popped my tire on the way to work. In the moment I was mad about it but after thinking about it, I was still grateful to have a car to drive. I focused on that instead of worrying about the cost of new tires and the ugly donut that can’t exceed 50 mph.

In some ways, you can argue that we’re trained to think for the worse because the narrative of the news is always on the negative in the world. I turn on the news and see a shooting, robbery, or celebrity break-up and the good news rides the bottom banner on the screen.

The thing that I wonder the most is could it be changed and if so what would it do?

If we changed our mindset in the world we could cut half of the problems we have. Focusing on good things will help us move towards the right decisions. Our mentality shouldn’t always be “my way or the highway,” it should be about making the best for everyone to look forward to.

Ever since I became this way things in my life have improved tremendously. It takes time, but if you just take a second and put somebody else’s situation in comparison to yours it may take out some stress of the crack in your new iPhone screen.  

The change starts with you.