Contextual Thinkers

Contextual Thinkers

Are you a glass half empty or a glass half full kind of person? Are you a pessimist, an optimist, a realist — or all of the above depending on the situation and circumstance? How do you get to the bright side of life?

I believe the answer to nearly every question is it depends. Most things in life are contextual. Situations and circumstances determine when we should take a half empty view of the world and when to choose a half full outlook.

People who move through varying degrees of pessimism and optimism depending on the situations and the circumstances are known as contextual thinkers. Rather than glasses being half empty or half full, their glasses are a bit too big or a bit too small. They think in percentages, grades and variances, rather than the binary on-off, yes-no, good-bad dualities.

I usually start from a base of optimism. When I read The Power of Optimism by Alan Loy McGinnis it inspired me to write this affirmation:

I'm a thorough minded optimist yes I am
I am seldom surprised by trouble in my life
I look for partial solutions all the time
I like to share the good news not the bad
I am cheerful even when I'm feeling sad
I interrupt any negative trains of thought
I accept some things in me are sometimes fraught
I accept what it is that cannot be changed
I know that sharing love can change my brain
I imagine and rehearse success from the start
I refresh my spirit and I exercise my heart

As a teenager my hero was Holocaust victim Anne Frank, the thirteen-year-old Jewish girl who documented her life in hiding during the German occupation and subsequent persecution and systematic annihilation of the Jewish people during WWII. Hidden in a secret attic above her father's office, Anne kept a diary and, notwithstanding her extreme circumstances, wrote: "Despite all that has happened I still believe people are good at heart."

Like Anne Frank, my optimism is not a Pollyanna kind where everything is sweet and beautiful — it's more of a thorough-minded one. We need to be aware of negatives, know that some things are murky in-betweens, and as best as possible learn to accentuate the positive and live each day with a sense of appreciation.

Personally I am 'B' negative by blood group and 'B' positive by effort and disposition!!!

Better • Smarter • Wiser.