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Are you a “ Glass half-full” or a “Glass half-empty” kind of person?

Are you a ” Glass half-full” or a “Glass half-empty” kind of person?

The character judgement tool rolled out for generations to help assess whether someone is a positive or negative influence on themselves and those around.

But what if neither was the correct answer? (**Model Answer at the end of the article)

Modern society has instilled a dependency on hope and an expectation of either positive or negative outcome that has neutered the desire for hard work and at times rendered people cripplingly unproductive.

To be optimistic is celebrated and being pessimistic is shunned – where the clear difference in attitude should be commended, I am here to tell you that without initiative and conscious action for change – the outcomes of both mentalities will remain the same.

The middle ground for these two personality traits and the infamous “Glass Question” as touted by many is to label yourself a “realist”. Often said with a shrug and smug that would turn anyone against you almost instantly. However, with people’s realities being different and the entire concept of reality being subjective, how can declaring yourself as “a realist” be a positive thing?

Hope and Faith in positive outcome are wonderful mantras as long as they are grounded by a foundation of hard work and determination to achieve.

It is unrealistic for me to eat 8 Big Mac burgers but I have seen a man do it …. twice.

It is unrealistic for me to run across the Sahara Dessert, but Moroccan Rachid El Morabity has run 251km across 6 days in record time every year for the past 7 years.

Reality isn’t uniform across the world so don’t try and impose yours upon others.

Hope and Faith in positive outcome are wonderful mantras as long as they are grounded by a foundation of hard work and determination to achieve.

Seek out the solution in advance, assess the hard work it will take to provide that solution and tie up your shoelaces tight and work your ass off to achieve it.

We live in a world where things “should” happen for you, not things happen when you make them happen and only a minority live by the latter ethos. There will always be a lottery winner, there will always be a viral superstar that never went to acting school, there will always be a guy that bought bitcoin in 2009 because he thought it was funny and now is a billionaire.

The same way that someone will always get struck by lightning – there will always be good and bad luck in this world. My advice is the harder you work the less you leave to chance and success will become a consequence to you not a freak occurrence.

So, we return to the Glass…my answer to the age-old question is – be a Pragmatist.

Seek out the solution in advance, assess the hard work it will take to provide that solution and tie up your shoelaces tight and work your ass off to achieve it.

That drive, that desire to not leave things down to hope or fate or whatever you may call it is what will set you apart from the ever-growing market of dreamers and naysayers.

"The Glass" Answers

Optimism

The Glass is half full I don’t know how this glass got here but I’m glad it is.

Pessimism

The Glass is half empty, this glass is useless, and I guess I will remain thirsty.

Realism

It’s the wrong sized glass, I have accurate glasses at my house.

Pragmatist

  • Assesses if there is a leak in the Glass
  • Assesses if there is a drought in the water supply
  • Alleviates both issues, studies if this issue is common in the area
  • Sources supply chain for accurate glass sizes
  • Signs distributor agreement, sells Glass at cost + 25%,
  • Becomes drinking vessel magnate,
  • Is labelled lucky by those around him
  • Makes first million dollars after 5 years, is labelled overnight success by local media,
  • Gets vilified for extorting the basic human right to a drinking vessel
  • Retires

The path of The Pragmatist is littered with naysayers and fire-quenchers that will dismiss your efforts as “luck” and hail your success as “overnight”.

The true bliss that can be achieved from real pragmatism is embracing the control of your own destiny that you have created and sympathizing with those that don’t possess the same humility and foresight.

Thomas Jefferson famously said “The Harder I Work The luckier I Get” – so in a world that hopes for luck without work……be calculated, pragmatic and work hard – the “luck” will come.

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