I am sure you have encountered “the glass” before.

Now, this glass is unique in the fact that scholars and non-scholars seem to wage a fierce debate over the contents of said glass.

One side says that this proverbial glass is half empty and the opposition adamantly argues that the glass is, in fact, half full.

The pessimists vs the optimists debate.

What’s the small difference between them?

An optimist thinks that this is the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist fears that this so.

The Psychologist Martin Seligman found that when we shift our explanatory style from pessimistic to optimistic it makes us feel better and we become grittier.

Optimists tell themselves that bad events           

• are temporary (That happens occasionally, but it’s not a big deal);         

• have a specific cause and aren’t universal (When the weather is better that won’t be a problem);

• are not