Water Levels
Posted on February 16, 2010 with 1 comment
Back in the 90’s the buzz word was paradigm, as in “paradigm shift”, a new way of thinking. Although we’ve played that phrase out in conversation as much as the songs of the day “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and “Achy Breaky Heart” were played on radio and never want to hear them again, that doesn’t mean the word doesn’t have a useful core minus its scriptic outer appearance.
Basically we looked for new ways to look at things, a purposeful breakout from old ways of thinking or doing in hopes we’d land on something that worked or wasn’t being done by someone already. Well today’s belated blog deals with just that topic. Changing an old methodology of thinking to serve our purpose.
What seems to be the focus over the past year? Well I’ll *money* give you a small *prices* hint as I go *recession* along here and *cutbacks* hopefully you’ll see *budgets* what I’m about to use as *do with less* vehicle for my point.
Ok. So I over did the old Saturday Night Live Mr. Subliminal bit just a smidge… it was fun alright? ;O. We often find that there are two types of people in the world… pessimists and optimists. In today’s economy the pessimists look at the things they’ve lost, what they can’t do any more, and of course a dim future. And as you’ know optimists sort of shrug off the losses, figure they acquired what they had and things they did once, they will do it again… the sun will again come up tomorrow so just hang in there.
And how have we always classified these two types of people? Come on… OK hint alert… it has to do with melted sand formed into a shape that contains H2O… alright then… a glass of water. And!! Not just any water but its what? Half….? Yeah… half empty or half full. AKA pessimists or optimists.
However today we have a new group of folks with that same glass of water. How is that possible you ask? “I mean its half full and half empty, the pessimists are weighted down by it being only half full and the optimists hover above the surface of the water in oblivion reaching to the top with rays of hope streaming from their fingertips. How can there be any other type of person from that?”
Well that’s true the glass is half empty or half full and the pessimist is looking at how much the water level dropped and sulking about it and the optimist is looking at it as it isn’t to the top yet but look how much more I can fill the glass now.
Well there is a third type of person in these challenging economic times, and the longer we live in them the more these folks come to the front of the line or are converted right where they are at.
Who are these people? Well if pessimists are those looking at the glass as half empty, optimists looking at the glass half full, it is the gratefulists that take that same glass, reach into their tool belt for a glass cutter and cut the rim down to the water level and wala! Once again they have a full glass.
Whether pessimist or optimist, the focus is always on the level of the water in the glass rather than the level of the glass to the water. Focus being on what was lost, or what can yet be gained, as oppose to enjoying gratefulness of what they have right now.
Some folks might look at that as settling for less in life, but if we stop, look at what we have in life, in this country of ours… as screwed up as it can be at times… we can appreciate what we have by cutting the glass down to the water level and enjoy a full glass of water despite it being a smaller glass.
There’s nothing saying you can’t overflow that glass and get a new one, but for now in these challenging times just being a pessimist or optimist doesn’t do it.
Being a gratefulist is a wonderful place to work from and it’s only a glass cutter away for any of us.
Basically we looked for new ways to look at things, a purposeful breakout from old ways of thinking or doing in hopes we’d land on something that worked or wasn’t being done by someone already. Well today’s belated blog deals with just that topic. Changing an old methodology of thinking to serve our purpose.
What seems to be the focus over the past year? Well I’ll *money* give you a small *prices* hint as I go *recession* along here and *cutbacks* hopefully you’ll see *budgets* what I’m about to use as *do with less* vehicle for my point.
Ok. So I over did the old Saturday Night Live Mr. Subliminal bit just a smidge… it was fun alright? ;O. We often find that there are two types of people in the world… pessimists and optimists. In today’s economy the pessimists look at the things they’ve lost, what they can’t do any more, and of course a dim future. And as you’ know optimists sort of shrug off the losses, figure they acquired what they had and things they did once, they will do it again… the sun will again come up tomorrow so just hang in there.
And how have we always classified these two types of people? Come on… OK hint alert… it has to do with melted sand formed into a shape that contains H2O… alright then… a glass of water. And!! Not just any water but its what? Half….? Yeah… half empty or half full. AKA pessimists or optimists.
However today we have a new group of folks with that same glass of water. How is that possible you ask? “I mean its half full and half empty, the pessimists are weighted down by it being only half full and the optimists hover above the surface of the water in oblivion reaching to the top with rays of hope streaming from their fingertips. How can there be any other type of person from that?”
Well that’s true the glass is half empty or half full and the pessimist is looking at how much the water level dropped and sulking about it and the optimist is looking at it as it isn’t to the top yet but look how much more I can fill the glass now.
Well there is a third type of person in these challenging economic times, and the longer we live in them the more these folks come to the front of the line or are converted right where they are at.
Who are these people? Well if pessimists are those looking at the glass as half empty, optimists looking at the glass half full, it is the gratefulists that take that same glass, reach into their tool belt for a glass cutter and cut the rim down to the water level and wala! Once again they have a full glass.
Whether pessimist or optimist, the focus is always on the level of the water in the glass rather than the level of the glass to the water. Focus being on what was lost, or what can yet be gained, as oppose to enjoying gratefulness of what they have right now.
Some folks might look at that as settling for less in life, but if we stop, look at what we have in life, in this country of ours… as screwed up as it can be at times… we can appreciate what we have by cutting the glass down to the water level and enjoy a full glass of water despite it being a smaller glass.
There’s nothing saying you can’t overflow that glass and get a new one, but for now in these challenging times just being a pessimist or optimist doesn’t do it.
Being a gratefulist is a wonderful place to work from and it’s only a glass cutter away for any of us.