Perspective

By Dr. David Jowdy

There’s always been this great debate: Is the glass half-full or is it half-empty?


It’s easy to get caught in a negative cycle and see the glass half-empty. I was taught long ago that the human body will gravitate toward the path of least resistance, which in most instances has a negative impact. You have to work hard and exert energy to build and grow. Think about weight lifters. The path of least resistance at your local gym is to lie on the bench press and not lift any weight. It takes force, energy and strength to lift the bar. You do that enough times and your muscles begin to grow, you increase strength and generally feel better.

Let’s apply this principle to our thought patterns. It takes effort, but let’s do an exercise in positive thinking:

Consider a person with an injury, such as a sprained ankle. It would be really easy to wake up in the morning, put your feet on the ground and say, “Ouch, my ankle really hurts!!” It’s reality, there is pain there, but we can counteract that negative thought with something positive. Something like this, “Ouch, my ankle really hurts, but it’s a lot better than it was yesterday!” Or maybe this, “Ouch, my ankle really hurts this morning, but I’m confident it will get better as the day goes on.” These additional statements help turn a negative into a positive. People will ask me this at times, “What if I can’t find anything positive with my situation?” I will tell them that it’s impossible to not find something positive going on at that moment. Even if it sounds silly or isn’t associated with the current problem, you can always find something positive to say. For instance, “Ouch, my ankle really hurts, but my left pinky finger nail feels GREAT!” See, sounds a little silly, but it places a positive spin on a negative situation (and instills a little humor into it as well).

A positive thought, image or action is 100x more powerful than a negative one. It only takes initiative and action to turn something negative into something more positive. The glass may look half-empty, but it’s always half-full.

Practice this often enough and it will become second-nature to you and your perspective will change dramatically!