The Glass is ALWAYS Some Percentage of FULL

We’ve all heard the expression “the glass is half full”.  Recently, while talking to my son, I realized that the expression while having the intent to inspire might not have the effect we desire or often believe that it has.  “See the glass as half full instead of half empty” sounds good but I suspect most people don’t truly interpret life and life’s events this way.

If you have uttered the expression before without ever really giving any real thought to the “expression”, take a moment to do so.  When you have thoroughly considered the “expression”, ask yourself a few questions.  What do we do when the glass is less than half full?  Do we give up because the glass is more empty than full?  What do we do when the glass is more than half full?  Do we feel embarrassed, guilty and quit trying because we have not already accomplished the thing we are trying to accomplish?

Glass is Half Full

I believe that this “expression” should be rephrased and I shared my thoughts with my son when he was having one of those I need some encouragement moments.   My words were “If there is anything in the glass then the glass is ALWAYS some percentage of FULL”.  I think this rephrased “expression” is a much better way to keep a child with a feeling of optimism.  I believe this rephrased expression is vital for all of those who use the minimal amount of our God-given ability so that we are constantly reminded that it is always possible for us to do better, to do more.

Science details that we only use ten percent of our brains power.  So if more of us really believed the “expression”, I imagine that there would be more people who would use more of their untapped brain power to do something transcendent and be among those we consider legendary.  The truth is though that far too many of us (me included) do far less than we are capable of doing.  As such, far too many of us sit around waiting for others to solve our problems or remove barriers and obstructions to our lives where no barriers or obstructions even exist.

I explained to my son that if we are going to perceive a half empty glass as being half full why not go all the way and consider an almost empty glass as some percentage of full as well.  To view things the way that I have encouraged my son to do is to have a view of the world that acknowledges that all things are possible.  As long as you have breathe, desire and a willingness to succeed – you have a chance.

For some this way of thinking is unrealistic but I believe that perception is an individual choice.  What we perceive and the way we interpret those perceptions becomes our reality.  We all have the option to see the world the way that we choose to see it.  So I ask my son, why not choose to see the world even when you consider things to be completely bleak as a glass with a drop of fluid – a glass that is some percentage of full.

When Life Gives You Mold, Make Peniclin

If you are not yet a believer in my rephrased version of the expression, I would encourage you to conduct a small science experiment at home.  After dinner one evening, before you clean up the kitchen, take a small amount of the scraps from your plate – something seemingly as innocuous as a piece of bread – and place it in a glass.   The amount of scraps that you put in the glass should be so minuscule that you would be offended if someone offered you such a slight amount for dinner.

The point here is to illustrate that what often appears to be nothing can be just the beginning of something – a full glass.  If you know anything about chemistry, you know that in no time mold will begin to grow on the bread.  What you might not know is that if you leave the glass as it is before long the entire glass will be filled with mold.  Not only will the glass be filled with mold but the room where the glass is located will smell like mold.  Hence, a glass that once was thought to be empty will now be full.

While I play a scientist in the blog, I am not one in reality.  Therefore this is about as detailed as I am going to get about the growth of mold.  Yes, the glass will be filled with mold.  Bread mold is a substance that is used to create penicillin.  Penicillin is a drug that has been used to cure people of bacterial infections that were once fatal.  And that is all the science you are going to get from me today.

The point is not to get you to go out and purchase a Petri dish so that you can conduct your own science experiments.  Rather my intent is solely to encourage you as I do my son – to remember that where something even the smallest bit exists in the glass, the glass ALWAYS has a chance to be FULL.

Likewise, as long as you remain optimistic in the bleakest of times there is ALWAYS a possibility for a HAPPY ending and something MEANINGFUL to occur even when it was first thought unimaginable.