Well, which is it? 1/2 full or 1/2 empty?

The answer is all about perspective.

Recently, I poured a 1/2 of glass of orange juice for my youngest daughter and she completely threw a fit.

She was in no frame of mind to be short-changed as her heart wanted a full glass! And, I was in no mood to argue so I simply turned around and said “okay.”

I went back to the kitchen, poured her orange juice into a smaller, differently shaped cup and brought it back to her.

She was thrilled! She couldn’t believe she got her way and had a smile as big as Texas.

It’s all about perspective.

Is the glass 1/2 full, 1/2 empty or twice as big as it needs to be?

That’s a much better way to look at many of life’s problems.

When we reframe many of our own life’s questions we get different answers.

Do we have enough money? Do we have enough clothes? Do we have a brand new car? Do we have everything our friend has? Did we get as many likes as we wanted? Did we meet our sales quota.

There’s an endless number of questions where the answer really depends on how you frame it.

Sometimes, an exact amount is necessary where this won’t work. Is 1/2 the wood enough to build the deck? Are 2 wheels enough for your new car? Will buying one shoe be enough for most people?

If we always fill a cereal bowl up to the top and we feel like we’re putting on weight because of it, buy smaller bowls. You’ll still fill them up the same.

If you always drink only one soda a day and it’s a 44 oz Big Gulp, change to the 32 oz size so you’ll still be at 1. You can make this adjustment over and ver and still make necessary changes that are healthier overall. And, in time, you most likely won’t notice.

The feeling of wanting something “filled up” is greater than our will power to stop 1/2 way.

Next time you see a similar question pop up in your own life, think about the question “is the glass 1/2 full or 1/2 empty?” And then and yourself, “is the glass twice as big as it needs to be?”

What examples can you think of where this could apply?