It doesn't matter whether the glass is half empty or half full. Be grateful that you have a glass and there is something in it. With this introduction, we begin a conversation about why life seems to one like an endless series of failures, while another perceives all the troubles as a respite between pleasant events.

What prevents us from being happy

Misfortune comes to that house where there are many shades of gray. Sometimes people just don't have enough joy. Does this indicate they are burnt out, or is it a matter of their own choice? Or has life turned to the dark side for them due to circumstances beyond their control? In depression and other psychological illnesses, there are also factors that contribute to depressed mood. There are fifty reasons why you might be unhappy, and just as many suggestions on how to open the psychological blinds so that the sun can shine on your life again.

And yet, empty or full?

You may not realize it, but every little thing in life (or, as pessimists say, the abominations of life) can poison your life. It's the age-old question: is the glass half full or half empty? A witty psychological test phrase doesn't really mean that much. That is, not the phrase itself, but the state of the glass being full. At least that’s what researcher Sean Achor thinks: “Our whole brain is focused on the glass, whether it’s half full or half empty,” says psychologist, “and we can argue forever over this hackneyed cliche, talk with optimists and pessimists on this topic , and both can say that the truth is on their side." By and large, both of them are right - and both are wrong. The truth is different.

Achor's theory

Instead of focusing on the glass, it is better to imagine a jug of water standing nearby, the psychologist suggests.

It's a completely different way of looking at things. Achor points out, "We can actually influence the state of the glass. I can actually care less about whether the glass is half full or half empty if I can fill it to the brim at any moment."

This new turn has helped many people change. Reviewers include TV personality Oprah Winfrey, who said: "Oh, that's good. I can now worry less about whether my glass is half empty or half full - as long as I have a jug to fill it." In a word, a person himself is capable of rectifying the situation, no matter how hopeless it may seem.

Happiness as a necessity

Shawn Achor has been called a man who studies happiness. He is the author of a dozen books and training courses that are wildly popular in America and around the world. At his trainings, he often asks the audience: what does it take to be happy - a house, a car, a prestigious job? Or is it all together? Of course, all this is significant, but there is one “but”: all these attributes can only be in a person who is happy from the very beginning. That is, someone whose glass is always half full, because he is determined to achieve results.

To what extent can a person’s inner potential, the success that can be achieved with the help of this potential, and ordinary happiness influence each other? Is it possible to think that only an accomplished, successful person can truly become happy, or, conversely, is happiness an important element on the path to success? According to Sean Achor's theory, it is extremely important to be happy for those who strive to achieve success in life, since only happiness and good spirits can affect the fruitfulness of efforts and their effectiveness. Shawn Achor shares these and many other secrets with readers in his bestselling book, The Happiness Advantage.

Optimism - is it always rational?

There is another side to the question: is it right to remain optimistic in any situation? I think no. There is an unsteady line between the imaginary and the real. Irrational optimism that has nothing to do with reality can not only seem stupid, but also become a source of disappointment due to unfulfilled expectations. The cruel reality may turn out to be completely different. That is, the glass may indeed be half empty.

How not to be deceived in expectations?

One of the most common mistakes is that a person tries to pretend to be someone who he really is not, while ignoring his true abilities and talents. Achor is not inclined to convince anyone of the magical properties of optimism, although its positive effect is undeniable. Correctly and reasonably set goals, adequate understanding of one's own capabilities, realism in the view of the world - all this does not at all exclude the action of optimism. It’s just that in practice it becomes clear: even a complete realist can look at the world with a smile, moreover, it will bring him a lot of pleasure.

Total: what does the glass have to do with it?

Let's return to the symbol - the glass, which, with the light hand of psychologists, has become a kind of dispenser measuring the degree of optimism or pessimism in a person. No one remembers who was the first to use this image to define human character. But the glass remained. The answer to the simple question “is this glass half empty or half full?” allows doctors to place the patient in the camp of optimists or those who see the world in a twilight light.

However, there are other test methods that allow you to determine whether a person belongs to one or another psychological type.

Relationship to the past and the future

“You can’t live in the past,” we often hear. The attitude towards losses - be it human losses, which are the most difficult to survive, or material, or missed opportunities - characterizes people in the best possible way. A pessimist always looks back, he cannot move away from the moment when he lost someone or something. As something good, he thinks only about what happened before the onset of this misfortune. And he doesn’t have the thought of looking ahead.

An optimistic person, on the contrary, understands that what happened cannot be corrected and the past cannot be returned. This means that we need to value not what is gone, but what remains. And try to ensure that there is something good ahead. Remember the metaphor of a pitcher of water, from which you can always fill your glass, even if it is half empty. The only value for an optimist is what he will take into the future, and constant mourning of his situation is a road to nowhere, and he understands this.

Similar metaphors

A glass is a more common image. But you can replace it with others, similar ones. For example, the metaphor of a wallet that is either half empty or half full. One suffers because his wallet is half empty, and the remaining money is unlikely to be enough to live until salary. The other thinks that there is still some money, and with its help you can hold out for a while and solve a number of problems, and then, you see, you will be able to rectify the situation. The attitude of patients with different types of temperament to their problem: one believes that he is half-dead, the other - that he is half-dead. There is a difference. And do not be surprised if the course of the disease in these two people is strikingly different.

No matter how we express our attitude towards the world and what is happening in it, no psychotherapist can force an optimist to become a pessimist and vice versa. Unless, of course, the patient himself wants it. And therefore, everyone will have to decide for themselves which glass in front of them is half empty or half full.

We are used to dividing people into three categories: pessimists, optimists and realists. In fact, each of those discussing the problem considers his own opinion to be the only correct one and most accurately reflecting the situation. "Do you really not understand? Isn't it obvious? Only a fool doesn’t understand that…” - such and similar “arguments” generously fall on the heads of opponents. They only prove the subjectivity of each opinion and nothing more.

Which of the debaters is an optimist and which is a pessimist? A glass of water will help us figure this out!

Everybody wants to be realistic

As a rule, no one wants to admit to being an optimist or a pessimist. Everyone wants to be called a realist. This philosophical problem is voiced by None, in his opinion, does not exist, it all depends on the point of view. And there are no realists; everyone sees the world in their own way. A person can only realize which camp he belongs to. And as objectively as possible, although this, again, is practically impossible.

An ordinary transparent glass filled to the middle with water (or other liquid) can serve as a device for measuring the degree of optimism. Is this vessel half full or half empty? Everyone has already forgotten when this question was first asked.

Dr. Gaal's primary diagnostic method

A lot of time has passed since Gaal, an American psychologist, came up with the idea of ​​conducting a very simple and visual test when seeing patients. He poured exactly 100 g of water into a 200-gram glass container and asked: “Do you think this glass is half full or half empty?”

The answer he received spoke volumes to the psychologist. Having heard it, it was possible to begin a more detailed diagnosis, but the doctor already knew the main thing. If the patient claimed that the glass was half empty, then he could safely be attributed to the community of pessimistic fellow citizens, and therefore, most of his problems arose due to a gloomy attitude towards the world around him. It's bad, but not hopeless. Doctors say about a similar illness that it can be treated. Unless, of course, the patient considers himself sick and wants healing.

Once upon a time, Henry Ford, the automobile king of America, arguing with his pessimistic son, told him that in any problem you need to see an opportunity to change the situation for the better. This is a vivid example of how a person for whom the glass is always half full argues.

An optimist looks forward, not back

The human understanding of trouble or misfortune is tuned to assessing losses. The thought returns again and again to the memory of the state preceding the moment when the misfortune arose. “How wonderful everything would be if this had not happened” - this is the main leitmotif of reasoning directed to the past. But the disaster has already happened, and people have not yet learned to turn back the time. Now you need to think not about what has been lost, but to soberly assess the remaining assets, developing along the way the most rational possibilities for their use. In other words, decide whether the glass is half full or half empty, even if there is only a third or a quarter left. The value for an optimist is not what is gone, but what is.

A look at disease and illiteracy

People sometimes get sick. Sometimes illnesses are so overwhelming that the sick person himself says to himself: “I am in a half-dead state.” Another, more optimistic patient, although not in the best condition, defines himself as half-dead. At the same time, medical science has reliably established that faith in recovery significantly influences the effectiveness of treatment, and the psychological attitude is no less important than the most modern and advanced medications.

It is interesting that poorly educated people often call themselves semi-literate, but never semi-illiterate. This shows their optimism about possible further learning and a clear understanding that knowledge cannot decrease.

Half full wallet

Not only the glass can serve as a measure of the true position. Is your wallet half full or half empty after paying debts and payments for gas, water and electricity? How many days will the purchased products last? Is there enough money for new shoes for children? Poor people who live in anticipation of an advance payment and salary are forced to answer these and similar questions. Deepening into the contemplation of one's own financial problems poses the danger of losing additional earnings or irrational spending of the remaining money, that is, a further deterioration of the situation. By focusing on the opportunities that the remaining resources provide and seeking additional funds, the situation can be improved.

In any case, no psychologist can instill in his patient the required degree of optimism if he himself does not want it. We live in a free world where everyone decides for themselves whether their glass is half empty or full.

Do you tend to see the glass as half empty or half full? To find out, read these statements and imagine yourself experiencing the situation described. How would you react? Some answers may not be what you think, but choose the answer that is closest to your way of thinking.

At the end of the test, see which answers correspond to an optimistic or pessimistic attitude and find out your result.

1. You found a dollar bill on the street. You'll think:
A. “What a lucky person I am!”
B. “What an observant person I am!”

2. After following a strict diet, you manage to lose 10 pounds. You think:
A. “This diet is very effective! I hope to lose more pounds."
B. “My efforts have brought results! I will be able to lose excess weight.”

3. You are at a party and you meet your friend whom you are very happy to see. Your thoughts:
A. “Fortunately, I decided to come to the party.”
B. “I was in the right place at the right time.”

4. You were going to organize a picnic with friends, but it is raining. You think:
A. “I should have planned it better.”
B. “What a misfortune! Next time everything will be fine."

5. You win the quiz. You'll think:
A. “I guess I have a good memory.”
B. “Luckily, the quiz had questions to which I knew the answers.”

6. It's the end of the month and you don't have enough money to pay all your bills. You think:

A. “It was a bad month. Everything will be better next month.”
B. “I’m not very good at managing money.”

Answers

1. A. pessimism
B. optimism

2. A. pessimism
B. optimism

3. A. optimism
B. pessimism

4. A. pessimism
B. optimism

5. A. optimism
B. pessimism

6. A. optimism
B. pessimism

An optimistic person knows how to differentiate between fate and success. He believes in his strengths and attributes every positive result he receives to his hard work and personal abilities. Even if things don't go so well, an optimistic person is not disappointed. Sets goals and dreams.

The default that might not have happened Gilman Martin

Is the glass half full or half empty?

If we remember how it all began, the list of achievements since the end of the Soviet era looks impressive. But no less, and perhaps even more impressive, is what remains to be done.

First of all, there is still no rule of law in Russia. Not only are many laws still controversial, but law enforcement agencies have the ability to interpret them at their own discretion. The administration of justice is opaque, and understanding of the presumption of innocence is often anecdotal.

Compared to Soviet times, the emergence of basic freedoms appears to be a huge step forward, but they are still not sufficiently ensured for all law-abiding citizens. Russian statesmen seem to have forgotten with undue ease the words of American President Theodore Roosevelt: “Our country will not be a suitable place for any of us to live unless it is somehow suitable for all of us together.”

The administrative apparatus needs reform at all levels. In those areas of activity from which the state is withdrawing, the efforts of honest, motivated employees are required, who should be tasked with economic regulation in the new conditions. We urgently need to get rid of bureaucratic arbitrariness and corruption at all levels. The work of the state apparatus should be determined by transparent rules, and not by the arbitrariness of the bosses.

Finally, Russia is still too dependent on who holds the post of head of state. Compared to what was seen in some parts of the former Yugoslavia or in Belarus, Putin appears to be an exemplary leader and an active champion of reform. But how will the situation turn out if the leaders who replace him choose the worst course of action? The Russian system is still too fragile to guarantee sustainable progress in democratization. It needs the development of civil society institutions and alternative sources of opinions and information. The famous upheavals in the media market may indeed have been financial conflicts in essence. After all, few people in the West are able to create and maintain high-quality television or print media. But this does not in any way cancel the authorities’ responsibility to constantly promote the development of healthy independent media.

The Russian government – ​​any government, not just the current one – is forced to solve all these problems simultaneously. If he has only poorly trained and unmotivated executors at his disposal, and leaders who are too far from ideal, then he is unlikely to be able to correctly determine policy priorities. In addition, having experienced the unexpected loss of imperial possessions, the disappearance of the country’s customary borders and the disruption of all established trade and financial ties, Russians as a nation are still in a state of confusion, which naturally leads to political polarization. All this must be dealt with by Russia's leaders, while never stopping the fight against poverty and growing inequality in a country with a large population and equally high expectations - which, by the way, may well pose a danger.

Pointing out objective difficulties is not at all intended to absolve the Russian leadership of responsibility in advance. Russia received a very difficult legacy, perhaps unique for Western civilization. But no nation, no people are doomed to failure.

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