Plot twist—it doesn’t matter! Find out how you can build your positive outlook.
If you saw me on Super Soul Sunday with Oprah Winfrey, you’ll know that Oprah and I discussed the age-old question: Is the glass half-empty or half-full?
Even the positive-minded media mogul admitted to wrestling with the question.
“I beat myself up because sometimes I look at it and I go, It’s definitely half-empty, and sometimes it’s half-full,” she said.
I would suggest a different way of looking at the metaphorical glass. We get so focused on ourselves and what’s inside the glass—our physical possessions, daily moods, failures and triumphs—and we can argue forever about the merits of being an optimist or a pessimist. Ultimately, however, the contents of the glass don’t matter; what’s more important is to realize there’s a pitcher of water nearby. In other words, we have the capacity to refill the glass, or to change our outlook.
Instead of asking ourselves whether we see the glass as half-empty or half-full, what if we focus instead on our pitcher? Oprah eloquently put it this way:
“I would say that the world itself is the pitcher. Life is the pitcher.”
Begin building your positive outlook by asking yourself these questions: How can I reach out and better connect with my co-workers, neighbors or friends? What are some ways my actions matter to the world? What am I proud of accomplishing today?
Watch the video clip of Shawn and Oprah: Who Cares Whether the Glass is Half-Full?
Read the article on Success.com
Shawn Achor is the founder of Good Think, Inc. and the author of New York Times best-selling books The Happiness Advantage (2010) and Before Happiness (2013). In 2006, he was Head Teaching Fellow for “Positive Psychology,” the most popular course at Harvard at the time. He holds a Masters from Harvard Divinity School and has spoken in 45 countries to a wide variety of audiences. Watch his popular TEDxBloomington video on TED.com, The Happy Secret to Better Work.
