by Michael Burke

Created on: February 19, 2009

Here comes a true contradiction, in spite of my pessimistic attitude I truly see the glass as half full, if not more than half full.

There are so many things in our world to be happy and excited about. Just to simply have the opportunity to wake up each day and observe what is happening outside of my four walls is something to be excited about.

Watching my children and grandchildren grow and learn every day is something to look forward to. To me they hold the promise and hope of a brighter future not only for myself but for every person that they come into contact with.

My beautiful wife of nearly thirty years went to the oncologist today for here six month check-up as a breast cancer survivor. Today is I believe her eighth visit back and when she returns and her doctor says that she remains cancer free it is reason to see the glass as overflowing. Four years ago the glass was half empty in my eyes but half full in hers. She was brave and confident and had faith that her cancer was going to be easily overcome. I thought otherwise because I was afraid of what the future may have held in store for her. Her confidence has since inspired me to see things from a perspective of hope.

My father passed away unexpectedly nearly four years ago. The shock of his sudden death is something that I still haven't gotten over but the resiliency of my mother has inspired me to become more optimistic. She worshiped the ground that he walked on and still does today but she realizes that things happen for a reason and she has taught me to realize the same. Coming to grips with his death has helped me better understand the grief and anguish that others feel at the time of loss of a loved one and by better understanding their feelings I truly feel that I have been able to provide some comfort for them at the time of their loss.

When I go to work I now look for the positive behavior in people and dwell less on the negative. This has not been easy for me to do but by doing so and recognizing and rewarding the positive rather than focusing on the negative my staff seems to be improving in all levels of their performance. When people receive praise in public it seems to create a need in others to strive to earn praise as well. It is almost as if the more optimistic that I become the more optimistic that the people around me become.

I now see problems as an opportunity to make an improvement versus an obstacle in my way. I have come to understand that the world isn't perfect nor is it ever going to be. When I play golf and hit the ball out of the fairway and behind a tree I no longer look at it as the end of a good round but as a challenge to make a good round better.

The strength of my children, grandchildren, wife and mother have served as inspirations to me. When I see the adversities, obstacles and challenges that they have faced and overcome it causes me to want to take my weaknesses and turn them into strengths just as they have done. By facing my own personal challenges I have become both stronger and more optimistic.

My pessimism stems from watching others fail without trying. It stems from people expecting something for nothing and it stems from watching the evening news. These factors though can help me also see the glass as half full.

When I see people fail it gives me the opportunity to encourage them to succeed. When I see people expecting something for nothing it gives me the opportunity to teach "life's lessons".

Lastly, when the evening news starts draining my glass it gives me the opportunity to reach over and grab the remote and turn the damned television off and allow me to start looking forward to tomorrow.

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