Knowing If Your Glass Is Half Full, Or Half Empty

Talking as I do with many people in businesses large and small it's always interesting to notice the correlation between the state of their business and their state of mind, or to be more exact, their point of view.

Whilst external reality, what's happening in the greater world (business, economy, social issues) is for the most part a fact, how we choose to deal with that reality is completely up to us. This is where having a 'glass half full', or 'glass half empty' attitude can make such a difference on the results you enjoy.

Writer Stephen Covey, in his book '7 Habits of Highly Effective People', refers to these areas as our 'circle of influence' and 'circle of concern' - one we have ownership of and can change, the other for the most part, we can't. People with a glass half empty point of view are probably spending the majority of their time in the 'circle of concern' and consequently expending their energy on things they probably can't change.

Redressing the balance to spend the majority of your time in your 'circle of influence' will put you in a far more 'can do' frame of mind. Former statements such as 'can't change this' become questions like 'what else can I do about this?' A more empowering place to be, I'm sure you'll agree.