Is That Glass Half Full, or Half Empty?

I have always considered myself to be more of a glass half full kind of guy. I would rather look at things with optimism than to always live with the pessimism of a half empty glass. My wife, on the other hand, considers herself a realist. When asked if the glass is half full or half empty, she's more likely to respond with "what's in the glass?", or "who's going to wash the glass?". Gotta love the reality of those responses!

 What about you? Are you a glass half full or half empty kind of person? How does what you hear, or read, impact the way you view the glass?

I came across this parable online a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a great example of the power negative words can have on our perceptions.

There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes so he read no newspapers. But he sold good hot dogs. He put up signs on the highway telling people how good they were. He stood on the side of the road and cried: "Buy a hot dog mister?" And people bought.

He increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. He finally got his son home from college to help him out during break.

But then something happened. His son said, "Father, haven't you been listening to the radio? Haven't you been reading the newspapers? There's a big recession. The world economy is terrible. The domestic economy is even worse."  Whereupon the father thought, "Well my son's been to college, he reads the papers and he listens to the radio, and he ought to know." So the father cut down on his meat and bun orders, took down his advertising signs and no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs as often.

And his hot dog sales fell almost overnight. "You were right, son," the father said to the boy. " We certainly are in the middle of a great recession."

- Author unknown