The Bright and Dark Sides of Optimism and Pessimism

We got the glass-half-full metaphor all wrong

We got the glass-half-full metaphor all wrong.

Photo by Zulmaury Saavedra on Unsplash

“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” — William Shakespeare

Our perception of life is a matter of perspective. We were taught that pessimists see the glass as half-empty while optimists see it as half-full.

I’ve always liked to challenge truisms — metaphors like this oversimplify life. It makes us approach optimism and pessimism as opposite and fixed concepts — you are forced to choose a side. Life is not static, but fluid. You can drink it down and then refill the glass.

Our society worships optimists and stigmatizes pessimists — people will like you or reject you depending on your view. However, this right or wrong approach is deceiving. Both optimism and pessimism have bright and dark sides — what you do matters more than how you see the glass.

Optimism Rules the World

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” — Oscar Wilde

Optimism wasn’t always the ruler. H…