Seeing the Glass as Half Empty and Half Full

People often ask the philosophical question "do you see the glass as half empty or half full?" with the answer determining if someone is an optimist or a pessimist. If you see the glass as half full, then you are considered an optimist, as you see the good in the situation. If you see the glass as half empty, you are deemed a pessimist who sees the bad, or what's missing. However, when it comes to life, I think the healthier viewpoint is to see the glass as half full and half empty at the same time. By seeing the glass of life as half full, you have contentment; appreciation for all that you have and satisfaction in all that you have accomplished. You recognize and are grateful for the good things in your life and can easily see how your glass could be less full than it is. Now at the same time it is important to not let this contentment and satisfaction turn into complacency. This is where seeing the glass as half empty comes in to play. Recognizing that your cup is still half empty creates the awareness that the full potential for your life has not yet been met, that there is plenty of room for you to grow, plenty for you to learn, and plenty of goals left for you to achieve. Envisioning the half empty part of our cup elicits a desire to strive towards filling our cup of life to its brim. And this, after all, is our calling in life: to fill the cup, which is our full potential, to its utmost. Each individual's cup may differ in shape and size, but everyone's goal, to fill their cup to the top, is the same. By seeing the cup as half full and half empty at the same time we can maintain a sense of satisfaction and contentment, while cultivating the desire and motivation to strive for more. So the next time someone asks you if you see the cup as half empty or half full, simply answer "yes."