4 Reasons Why Seeing The Glass Is Half Empty Is A Good Thing

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I know that we have all heard the saying that you should look at the glass half full overlooking at the glass is half empty. But I am going to tell you the EXACT opposite in the sense that looking at the glass half empty can actually BENEFIT YOU. Let me explain:

1. Glass Is Half Empty ~ Case in Point: Me

I have a habit of looking at the glass half empty and normally that is seen as being cynical. But I disagree, looking at the glass is half empty does not mean that I am depressed or that I cannot look on the bright side.  Looking at the glass half empty has helped me realized how hard I need to work to get my glass all the way full.

Looking at the glass half empty made me want to get my Master’s degree, then my Ph.D., then I became a National Certified Counselor, then a blogger, author, and I am still going and achieving things to get myself to the top. This may be completely going over your head but I promise you once you are done reading you will completely understand.  You can watch my single mom level-up story where I talk more about what I went through to level up. And don’t forget to subscribe to my channel by clicking here. 

When the glass is half empty ~ What’s my point:

My point is that sometimes looking at the glass half-full makes you too optimistic, it makes you think that everything is all hunky-dory, and so you stop trying because all you see is good and ignore the fact that even though your glass is half full there is still an empty space in the cup, and empty space means there is room for improvement.

There is room to grow and there are things that you can do to get it closer to make your glass all the way full. That way you are not looking at any empty space whatsoever, it’s like your cup runneth over (pun completely intended).  When the glass is half empty it makes you compare yourself to the best and looking at the glass half-full can make you compare yourself to the worst.

I once heard an interesting quote from a friend of mine. She said you should never compare yourself to the worst but always compare yourself to the best. And the reason for this is because if you are comparing yourself to the worst, then you are going to say:

“well I have some water in my glass, and that is better than no water at all. At least if I get thirsty I have enough water to get my mouth wet. And look at such and such over there. She has no water at all  and since I have a little bit of water and I am doing  better than her and so I must be doing great.” 

The above is a metaphor so let me explain.

2. Glass Is Half Empty ~ Case in point: Me Again

I used to work as a correctional officer not making much money at all, working long hours, in a VERY stressful environment. Sure it was a job but it was not the BEST job and it was not the best that I could do. While others thought to themselves “well at least I have a job, a state job, one that I can retire from.”

Now don’t get me wrong, you should be thankful for your job but never think that because you are doing better than people who have no job that this is the best you can do. That is what I like to call comparing yourself to the worst. When I left that job about 11 years ago all the correctional officer people thought that I was crazy. They thought that I was giving up a good job that literally paid pennies.

No one left a “state job” what will you do? You will be back? Or my favorite line “Are you going to work in fast food?” Forget the fact that I had an entire bachelor’s degree at that point. The only option for them was to work in fast food or have a state job. Because they were comparing themselves to the worst. Not the best.

They suffered from looking at the glass half full. They thought that just because they were better off than some people that they should stop going higher and stay where they are. And where they were was just better than some.

Needless to say, I left that job to do things that would fill my own glass.  Needless to say that I make several times more salary-wise than when I was working at the jail.  And I do not have to work 12-16 hours a day and I do not have to work holidays. While in the jail I would literally have to work Thanksgiving, Christmas, and everything else.

I filled up my glass and my glass runneth over. On the flip side, there are some people that I know that are still working at that jail, still tired of working there, hating the fact that they are working there, and they are still stuck in the same place. But hey, at least they have a “state job right.” It’s not the best, but at least its something.  They settle for a little bit of water instead of seeking more water.  Are you getting it?

Glass Is Half Empty ~ What’s my point.

When your glass is half empty it keeps you humble. When you start to compare yourself to the worst you think that because you are doing better than them that you must be doing good. When really you are only doing better than people that are in bad situations, and they are not the majority.

And that is the danger of looking at your glass half full. You will over rationalize the things that you do have, instead of trying to work hard toward the things that you don’t. On the flip side when you compare yourself to the best. You will always be working, doing, grinding, and going out to get.  Because you are going to do whatever it is you need to do to put more water in that glass.  Get it?

If I just stayed at the jail with that limited mindset that this was a “good job” and the best that I could ever do then I would have missed a very great life and very great opportunities. I would not be an author, I would not have my business, I would not have been able to own my home. I would have just settled into mediocrity thinking what I had was okay because after all the other single mom down the street has nothing at all and has to just live on welfare.

I am not knocking welfare, I am just saying that don’t believe the hype and think that just because you are doing better than some women, some of your high school friends, or some black people that you should just stop. Because you are comparing yourself to the worst (glass half full) and not the best (glass half empty). And you should want to be the best.

3. What The Glass Is Half Empty IS and what it is NOT

When the glass is half empty does not mean you fully lack optimism.  It does not mean that you are not happy with what you have or that you are never going to be happy with what you have. Looking at the glass half empty does not mean that you are not grateful, thankful, or dismissing the blessing that you do have.

It just means that you are aware that there is some water in your glass but you still recognize that the glass is STILL half empty and there is still more room for more water. Meaning there are more goals to be achieved and a better life to be built. Don’t just settle for a half glass for when you can have a full glass.

“When you are content with your glass being half full you become stagnant, complacent, and never do the work that it takes to make your glass completely full. “

Think of your entire life like this. You should not just want to quench your thirst. You should want to have more than enough. You should want your cup to runneth over with every goal you have accomplished. When you are thirsty you should have an abundant cup to drink from. Not a half-empty glass that you have to take smalls sips from over time so that it does not get empty. When you think about it, you only live once.  You are in this moment only one time (See my blog for more on this topic).

When you look back on your life you should not want to have moments of regret where you feel like you could be farther in life or think that if you would have just done this, or that, or made that decision things would be different. You should not have moments in life where you were thirsty and you wanted to drink more but you couldn’t because you only had a little bit of water in your cup.

You do not want to look back on your life and wish that you would have tried harder and the only reason why you didn’t is that you were too busy comparing yourself to the worst and not the best (see my blog here for more on comparing yourself to others).  That just because you are doing better than most of your friends then you must be doing good when most of your friends are doing bad themselves.

Although you should count your blessings, you should realize that just getting by is not getting by at all. Why struggle on minimum wage when you can make a decent salary that can allow you to do what you want when you want, and that will allow you to provide a better life for yourself. A salary that will give you enough water to drink instead of a little sip.

Get out of the poverty mentality (see my blog here) when you are just satisfied with barely getting by (hence the glass half full mentality). Even if there is water in the glass, it’s still half full, it is still living at half of its capacity, there is still room for growth.

If you know someone who could read this post and need a little encouragement in their life then go ahead and share this post with them. And also check out my Christian manifestation guide with 29 affirmations and Bible verses.  Just click here.