by Starri Knight

Created on: January 04, 2007   Last Updated: June 28, 2008

You will often hear people describe themselves as either optimists, pessimists, or realists. Meaning, metaphorically, that their either see the glass as "half full", "half empty" or "both half full and half empty".

If your glass is half full, it generally means that you are happy with what you have, value your achievements, posessions and accomplishments as they are, and are not always hungry for more. You feel satisfied and are able to see most situations in a positive light. As an optimist, if you lose your job, you believe that it was for the best and that probably a better job is just around the corner. As an optimist, if you lose $10 out of your pocket you think that perhaps someone who needed it more will find it. Equally optimists see the best in other people, believing them capable of better and best. Optimists believe that things will get better, assure themselves that things could always be worst.

Pessimists, with their glass half full, focus on the most negative aspects of people and events. They live in perpetual fear that things will go wrong, and so even when something fortunate occurs, they fear that things will change and "the other shoe will drop". Their dark attitudes often drive others away and challenge their success in friendships, relationships and careers.

Realists believe that life is purely random, and try and view the world in the most scientific light possible. They deal with life as it comes, reacting only to what occurs, and trying not to overreact. They know that fortunes come and go, health comes and goes, and really, all you can believe in is what you have today. Today's reality. They try to avoid victimizing themselves with neither daydreams of rosier futures, or nightmares of what could befall them.

So really these are all just ways of thinking about life. And life, after all, is what you think it to be. Many believe that our perceptions shape our realities, if only by guiding our behaviour. If we believe that people are bad, then we treat them as if they were bad. And often they will respond accordingly. If we are too afraid to lose what we have, we fail to enjoy it, avoiding all risk and uncertain situations. If we are sure we can and will win a job interview, we go into the situation full of confidence and bright energy. If we believe in love and trust, we inject that into our relationships, often receiving the best in return from those we love.

What we send out is what we get back. Your heart can be light and full of hope or dark and full of fear. The choice is yours. Reality is yours to shape through perspective.

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