Shift Your Perspective: Half-Empty to Half-Full

On this episode of The Breakthrough Podcast, we are delving into understanding the power of having a positive mindset versus a negative mindset, the impact on our daily lives, and the practical steps to shift from a half-empty to a half-full perspective. All right, my peeps, let's go. I'm your host, Travia Steward, of The Breakthrough Podcast, and this is the place where you come when you're ready to stop settling in all areas of your life. I believe that you You're one breakthrough away from a completely different life. Let's go. All right, what's up, my peeps? Happy Podcast Thursday. Today we are diving into the— this question that, that just seems to be timeless. We can always continue to ask it of ourselves and recognize it for other people. And is it, do you view the glass half empty or half full? And knowing the answer to this can uncover such profound insights into our overall mindset and our overall perspective on life. And so whether you are driving right now listening to this podcast, maybe you're at the gym, maybe you're doing chores around the house, but I want you to take a moment and answer that question for yourself. Because knowing the answer could provide a lot of insight for how you view and how you're reacting to things in your life. And maybe take a moment, if it's not what you want it to be, to, you know, actually shift that. So let's talk about a positive, a positive mindset first of all versus a negative. So when I think about positive mindset versus negative mindset, I think of someone who walks into the room and you just feel this negative energy about them. It's kind of like you were feeling good before, now you, you, you entered into a conversation with that person and now you're like, you know, I was feeling pretty good before that, you know, I talked to so-and-so and now hell, I'm feeling negative, you know. But let's say you are entering into a conversation with someone who is like they just seem confident, they have it all together, they have this, this abundant, positive, optimistic energy that is exuding from their, from their pores. And that's something that I work on constantly because I want people to always have a positive experience of me. And so I am very intentional with how I show up Now that doesn't mean that I'm always positive Polly and I'm always optimistic. I have my moments too, right? But I am always aware of the energy that I'm putting out. And if it's energy that I don't need, you know, that I don't want to, you know, other people to latch on to, then those are probably days I stay home. I'm not going to interact. I'm going to work through those things. I'm going to process those feelings, you know. And then I'm like, okay, I've worked through it. Now I want to get out there because I'm not someone who views the glass as half empty. I view the glass as half full because I believe, you know, things that are happening in this world are happening for me. Because I don't want to have a victim mindset. I don't want to have a Negative Ned, Negative Nancy kind of mindset. So how does this look and play out in our lives? You know, where we choose to focus our energy and how we choose to show up. So let's say, for example, what this looks like if, uh, let's say you are interested in dating someone and, you know, maybe you've been dating, you've gone on a couple dates, and it's like you are thinking, I'm not gonna spend forever with this person, I'm just hanging out and blah blah blah, just having a good time. And, and maybe you actually tell them, this is not forever, I don't think this is forever, or even, I don't even know if this is forever, you know, we're just doing this, this, this thing right now, you know, don't get your hopes up because hmm, you know. And so when I think about it right now, those, you know, it seems funny in the moment, but what is the intention that we're setting for that relationship? It's already, you know, what are you creating based on what is happening as far as what is this— this— I just turned on the light. I apologize, it was distracting. I know. But what is the intention? What is the perspective that you're putting out about this relationship? And so if you don't think it's going to last, then what's going to happen? It's not going to last, you know. Or let's take another example. Let's say you have a disagreement with a partner about, you know, usually people, you know, in a relationship disagree about the bills, they disagree about things around the house. And so let's say that there's a disagreement, and because you're viewing— hypothetically speaking, if you're viewing the glass half full, you could have thoughts of, my partner never listens to me, all we do is argue, we're never a team, you know, blah blah blah blah. This mindset and this perspective leads to resentment. It leads to sometimes a failed relationship because we don't communicate on a high level. And you know, it just— it's some energy that's, that's like, once we're breeding this negative energy, it's like sometimes it's, it's contagious. And if one— I mean, because have you ever noticed, like, you know, I love the— I think it's funny, the quote in, uh, the movie Steel Magnolias that Weezy says, and I may butcher it here in a moment, but if, if you don't have anything to say, anything good to say about someone, come sit next to me, is what Weezer says in Leo Magnolias. And so I'm the absolute opposite. Now that doesn't mean that, you know, every now and then I entertain some, some good tea, you know, but I don't want that to be my intention. Like, I want to surround myself with positive things. I want the inputs that are coming into my life to be positive. And so that helps my outlook because I tend to see the glass half full. And so when I am, you know, having a disagreement with my partner, you know, which, you know, we communicate exceptionally well, and that's not something that has always been, you know, apparent in our marriage. That's something that we have created. And so whenever we have these discussions and we're talking about— and maybe there is a disagreement, but we take the time to listen and hear each other out And I, for one, always make sure that I am coming from, how can this help me? Now, I haven't always been that person. Sometimes I was a tit-for-tat kind of person. You did this and now I'm doing that. But because of the work, because of my work as a coach and the impact that I've noticed that it has on my life, I tend to listen and how can I learn from this? How can I really hear her out? Because having that positive outlook, the glass half full in your relationship, can really, really change so many things. And then let's move on to the second point that I was going to talk about: the impact of this perspective on our daily lives. So it allows us— like, it guides how we experience life. So if you're walking through and you're negative, you don't, you know, you don't stop and do the proverbial, the proverbial things of I'm gonna stop and smell the roses. You don't even appreciate the roses, you know. You don't even see the roses, you know. You're guiding, and everything that comes, you know, into your mind and, and out of, of your mouth in the language is generally negative. I mean, someone who sees the glass half empty is someone who views challenges as, I can't do that, they're insurmountable, you know, these are obstacles that I can't overcome. A lot of these people have the victim mindset, you know, it's just how it is, and I, you know, that's just how my life is supposed to be, that's who I am, and I'm just stuck here. And a lot of times when you see the glass half empty, we don't see difficulty and challenges as opportunities to grow and learn. And to be honest, I used to be that person. I used to be the person who are like, okay, you know, I wasn't good at that, so I'm not gonna do it again. I didn't do that, I failed at that, I'm not gonna do that, I just must not be good at it. But now the person that I am today is, okay, how can I improve at that? How can I learn and grow and get better at that skill? You know, like for instance, you know, the podcast is growing, but honestly it's not growing like a lot of, you know, when we think of like the top 100 podcasts, because— and, and I've spoken to friends, other colleagues, and they're like, kudos to you for keeping your podcast going, you know, because so many people give up. So many people— I mean, there are millions and millions of podcasts, but when you look at it, some of those podcasts haven't produced a live episode or recorded episode in over a year. And so, so many people give up on those things. And if I were still viewing the glass as half empty, I would have given up on it too, because I would go, this is not being fruitful, you know, I'm not having, you know, an impact, and I'm not reaching the people that I really want to, and how is this helping other people? And sometimes you, you want to know that what you're doing is helping. And so do I wish It was meeting, you know, and getting out there to more people. Absolutely. But my glass half full perspective says it will. It's only a matter of time. So that impact on my perspective— I feel better. I walk into a room and my energy is pure and clean and positive. I am the person who walks into a room and I'm like, all right, I'm going to hopefully create an experience so that you can experience me in a positive way. Now, it's not about— I don't want to be soul-sucking, I don't want to suck all the energy out of the room, but I want to be a positive experience for someone else. And so let's take another example. Let's look at a career example. You know, we're talking about you know, something happens. Let's say you get some feedback from a manager, a director, you know, your supervisor, and this is feedback to help you perform better. But glass half empty, we're like, they're always picking on me, you know, I can't do anything, I can't win for losing, you know, I hate this job because, you know, once again every week just she don't look at all the good things I do, they just look at all the bad things I do, and I just, I don't like place anymore because they just nitpick. And okay, that may have a little bit of relevance, of, of, of a little bit of significance to it in some situations, but it's all in how you receive the information. It's all in how can I use this information from my supervisor, my director, my manager to improve on something that maybe I'm not hitting the targets that I'm expected that I have an agreement to hit, and how can I better do that? And so whenever we feel attacked, we feel like we're just not good enough, we feel like we're not fit for that position or that job, then that leads to, you know, feelings of discouragement, disappointment, decreased motivation, you know. And then we even have a tendency to get defensive. And so instead of using this feedback, you know, as a stepping stone for professional growth and improvement, you know, we sometimes view this because we're viewing the glass half empty as a focus on, you know, negativity, on failure. Now we take on the identity that I'm just not good enough, it's who I am, I'm a failure. Which generally tends to hinder, you know, getting a promotion, progressing up on that career ladder, and ultimately affects the overall job satisfaction. And then you're looking to go somewhere else because all you believe was the boss was nitpicking. But if you believe the boss was giving you feedback so that you can climb that corporate ladder and you won't have to get that same feedback next month, next week I bet that whole perspective changes. So those were two examples of how viewing the glass half empty compared to viewing the glass half full could really have a significant difference in your life. And so point number 3, the practical steps to shifting this perspective. You know, those of you who've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know I'm a proponent for gratitude journaling. If you don't have time to, to do it in your book like my my, my gratitude and my journal sits here on my desk. This is it. This is what I use every single day. And so if you don't have something like that and maybe you're busy, then put it in your phone or just take a moment and, you know, send up a gratitude, send up, you know, a prayer, a meditation, something. But writing down and starting your day with 3 things that you're grateful for is a simple practice to shift to begin shifting that perspective, you know, instead of focusing on what's missing. Because that's what glass— glass half empty is. Instead of focusing on what's missing from your life, we want to focus on the abundance in our life, because we can always be grateful for something. You know, I'm grateful for this beautiful office that I've created. I'm grateful for my friends. I'm grateful for my beautiful relationship that we continue to create daily. I'm grateful for you, my peeps, who listen to this podcast and continue to show up and, and, and, and find value from this podcast. So number 2, what you could do, a second tip, is being mindful. Mindfulness, a little bit of meditation, and practicing and becoming aware when your thoughts and feelings— remember last week I talked about, you know, where to shop, you know, for, for thoughts that fuel your reinvention, because we don't want to shop at the old aisle, we don't want to shop in our past. We want to shop at, you know, at the, the high-end stores rather than the past in the landfill of old negative thoughts filled with drama and trauma, right? So we want to become aware of our thoughts and feelings and make it easier to choose positive thoughts. And then number 3, the inputs that, you know, whether it's the TV, the radio, your friends who you're hanging out with, you know, your environment, things that are around you. The reason why I have my office set up the way it is, is because these are all positive reinforcements. You know, like, I look at my Playbill back here and I go, yes, this is what I'm doing, this is who I am. All of these things are positive reinforcements for me. And so I want to always be surrounded by positivity. I want people in my life, in my relationship, my friends, people I interact with to be positive and optimistic, because it's soul-sucking and soul-draining when you're hanging out with somebody who's negative all the time. And I'm like, I just want to get up and leave, you know, because if all you're gonna do is be negative, then, you know, that's, that's just not my person. Because I just feel better having positive energy and having a positive outlook and seeing the glass half full. So my peeps, as I wrap up this episode, I want to review for you the power of a positive mindset, of seeing the glass half full compared to half empty, and then how you're able to identify it by the language that you use, by the thoughts that you're having. And then number 2, your perspective shapes every experience of your life. And by changing your perspective, you can change your results and your reality. And then we talked about the 3, you know, steps that you can implement right now. You know, we're talking about journaling, starting your day off with gratitude, mindfulness, and, you know, being aware of what's happening, and then surrounding yourself with more positivity, even if it's things like you put in your car, things you put up on the wall. And so just doing these 3 things on a consistent basis, if you're someone who sees the glass half empty, that could begin to shift to seeing the glass half full. And that can begin to shift the energy that you're putting out, the energy that you're feeling, the energy that you're receiving, as far as being a catalyst, being someone who is optimistic and positive, and someone who is able to go through life, experience the things that life, you know, that life throws at us, and know that this is happening for me, and how can I learn and grow from this experience. All right, so my peeps, thank you for joining me today, and again, I hope this episode inspires you to look at the glass and see it half full and begin to shift your perspective. So if you're enjoying this podcast, please share it with, with 2 other people. That's what I'm asking you to do. Share it with 2 other people who may find value. And again, if you have something that you want me to answer a question on, like a podcast in the future, shoot me an email at travia@traviasteward.com and I would love to answer it, especially if it's something that can provide value for someone else. All right, my peeps, we'll talk next week. Peace.