There’s been more interest in researching and writing about optimism in psychology these days, and a greater emphasis on resiliency and enhancing people’s resources.  What investigators find is that optimism is healthier for both body and mind.  I’m delighted to experience this shift happening as, over the years, I have tended to emphasize the more resourceful aspects of clients’ experience and capacity. This has included helping people access their “optimal future self” as a way to tap into their inherent potential.  [By the way, there’s a future-self guided meditation available on the Meditations page.]

It’s important to know that accessing resources doesn’t mean ignoring things that are wrong, or that need to change.  Instead, it’s about the kinds of lens we wear as we perceive and interpret everyday life.  There’s a branch of psychotherapy I’ve probably mentioned lots of times over the years called “solution-focused therapy.”  The hallmark of this approach is that clients are invited to pay attention to what’s going right.  It’s a given that there are problems, and that there are things going wrong, but this approach seeks to help people learn to pay attention to what’s going right, as well.

If you look at a glass that is filled up half way with water, there are two possibilities of how you may experience that glass.  On one hand, the glass is half full.  On the other, it is half empty.  Both perspectives are true and valid.  The key is, which point of view enhances the quality of your experience?  If you tend to live in a half-empty world, how does that affect your perspective on your current situation and the future?  If you live in a half-full world, how does that impact your interpretation of what’s happening now and how you look to the future?

There’s no right or wrong stance here.  The invitation is to pay attention to how your perspective affects your quality of life and the tone of your internal experience.  Since both the half-full and half-empty perspectives are true, and since they are equally valid, they present us with an opportunity to play with points of view.  For example, you might look at a particular situation first from a half-full point of view and then with a lens that sees the situation as proof that the world is half-empty.  Then, as you play with this, notice how you feel.  Most people find that a half-full perspective tends to support a feeling of abundance and possibility, and that a half-empty point of view leans toward a sense of lack.  But, as you play with this experiment, notice how it works for you and be sure to include the sensations you feel in your body as you move from half-full to half-empty points of view.

Each moment offers us a choice of perspective.  All we need to do is become conscious enough of our stance that we are free to shift it from one side to the other.  And so, please enjoy exploring and discovering the different responses that emerge when you experience the world as half-full and then when you experience it as half-empty.  And, remember, looking at the world as half-full doesn’t mean you overlook problems, or ignore the things that need to change.  It means that you have an opportunity to live more resiliently, even in the presence of life’s many challenges.