Is Your Glass Half Full or Half Empty Essay

Shakespeare quotes â€Å"there is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so. † These are words of wisdom, as Shakespeare had discovered centuries ago that are still relative to the daily events that occur for the average twenty-first century adult. People often waste too much time thinking about small negative aspects of their day which creates added stress that is not necessary. Like over analyzing every detail of a minor nuisance you’ve encountered. Stress from daily negative occurrences throughout the day everyday add up and have significant harmful effects on mental and physical health. Stress, however is subjective and lies in the eye of the beholder. Therefore stress really does not exist at all, it is all in your mind and you are the one that makes the decision to over analyze every little detail of a situation or not, which allows your thinking, perceptions, attitudes, and appraisals of events to determine what is stressful to you. What initially causes stress is anything that you look upon that is bad or negative in some way. It is how and what we perceive to be negative that brings upon stress on one’s daily life. A decision is based on one’s judgments of their own estimation of value, worth, and quality given a specific situation. According to Cannon-Bard’s theory of emotion, the response comes after the fear experience. Therefore one will experience fear, or stress from threats, illness, change, danger, pressure, conflict, long term frustration, or anxiety. Stress and fear can evolve from any form of threat that is real or perceived. Cognitive reactions are the result of Shakespeare’s quote, therefore the responses to stress after the initial threat or fear. Cognitive reactions teach you methods to change your perception of the way you think for future prevention. Neuroticism is the response that includes emotional, anxious, insecure, and vulnerable aspects regarding stress. Health consequences include both physical and psychological effects. Physical effects include hypertension, eating disorders, procrastination, low immune system, and high levels of cortisol. Psychological effects include impaired memory, impaired performance, and inability to respond to a situation. Health psychology is the most current approach to increase the potential of general well-being. Health psychologists believe in prevention rather than treatment. Therefore they help to predict the onset before an episode. Changing one’s behavior plays a huge role in the resolution of healthy living. Cognitive Therapy is the modern approach which involves changing the way you think and understanding the reason to abandon your old reasoning for a new different perspective on the same thought. The ABC model, where the B in the model stands for beliefs is the most crucial part when analyzing Shakespeare quote. The problem is that people have different believes, opinions, and perceptions of what is good and bad. Unconsciously we begin to form a belief system of what we believe is good and bad from parents, peers, and school. We use beliefs to interpret ourselves, other people and the world in general. In conclusion, the essence on Shakespeare’s quote is to never say anything bad about yourself therefore you avoid the entire idea of the negative pessimistic attitude. The power of positive thinking will change your perspective and feelings. From a cognitive perspective, you can create happiness by decreasing your negative thoughts and increasing your positive optimistic thoughts and views and reducing stress to live a healthy and positive life. When analyzing the question â€Å"is your glass half full or empty? † is hinting at how you view life in general either with an optimistic or pessimistic view. The decision is ultimately up to you.