Commentary
During the first 35 years of my life I was more of a pessimist than an optimist. I saw the glass as half empty, not half full. I saw problems instead of opportunities. I've had to learn the power of optimism and the need to see the glass as half full. I had to learn how to discover the silver lining in the dark cloud.
Even now 40 years later, I still struggle some days to see the glass as half full. Often my first reaction to change and new ideas is that it can not be done. I have learned that I need to believe in myself before I can accomplish anything. I need to find hope in a negative world.
Being a pessimist is much easier than being an optimist. In almost any situation, it is easier to find the reasons something can not be done than to find the reasons that it can. It is easier to be a negative person than a positive one.
Pessimists believe that they are the realists and that optimists have their heads in the clouds. The truth is that it is much harder to believe something can be achieved than it is to find fault with an idea. It is much harder to be an optimist.
Research shows that optimists often have less stress, better heart health and better sleep. Optimists usually achieve more than pessimists and a recent study shows that they live longer. (Source: Washington Post)
As creative leaders, we need to have faith that what we create has value. We need to believe in our ability to create something that can benefit others. We need to have the faith to keep working when there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
Is your glass half full or half empty?
Helen Keller
Born June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Daughter of Arthur Henley Keller and Catherine Adams.
Father was the editor of Tuscumbia North American.
When Helen was 19 months old, she contracted an unknown illness that left her deaf and blind.
Parents sought help for her and their search led to Anne Sullivan who was visually impaired.
When Helen was six, Anne came to live with the Kellers as Helen’s governess.
Helen attended the Perkins Institute for the Blind and the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf.
At the age of 24, Helen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University.
Helen learned to speak and spent much of her life writing twelve books and giving lectures around the world, traveling to 40 countries.
Anne Sullivan was Helen’s companion until Anne died in 1936.
Helen met every President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor in 1964.
Helen Keller died in her sleep on June 1, 1968. She was almost 88.
I love your use of the voiceover to complement the post
Your thinking is great and very helpful.