“The pessimist sees the glass as half empty, while the optimist sees the glass as half full.”

Or something like that, at least. This simple phrase is how most people define his/her outlook on life: You are either a pessimist that sees the glass half empty, that things are constantly in a state of getting worse. Or you are an optimist who sees the glass as half full, with most things in life having some “silver lining.”

But, to me both of these ways of looking at things avoid reality. These oversimplifications do not give us a well-rounded view of the world around us. So, I would like to suppose a third way of looking at the glass: The unbiased realist sees the glass as full as it’s supposed to be.

To see the glass always as half empty means to miss all the small victories won and positive steps made. The see the glass as half full is to be blinded (at some level) to all that is still needed to end up with a great product.