Is the glass half full or is it half empty?

For me, this year is definitely going to be a "glass half full" year. I'm determined to focus on the positive side of even negative situations. I firmly believe there is a positive to almost any situation we face if we're strong enough to search for it. No doubt it's not always easy to see the positive side of things. Then there are also those times when I'm so mad or disgusted with something that the last thing I'm interested in is the positive. Are you that way sometimes too? Well, let's determine that this year it's going to be different. If you're a leader in your church or place of employment, highlight the positive things about those you work with or that work for you. You'll be sure to get more out of them that way. You'll even get more out of yourself that way too. There's something that happens internally to us when we speak positively to others. We feel better about ourselves when we help someone else feel better.

Health studies have even shown that recovery after surgery is notably better for optimists than pessimists; with greater risk for post surgery depression higher for pessimists. I was listening to Klove today and they had a news spot that reported optimists generally live several years longer than pessimists do. Optimism is simply the better choice for approaching life.

So this year, I'm going to accentuate the positive. It's easy to point out the negative, but it takes a special talent to extract the positive in many things.

So, does every cloud have a silver lining? I think so.