Well, dear readers, here is a guest post from Josh Hanagarne, the formidable force behind the World’s Strongest Librarian. When he posted a call out to do a guest post for his readers as a marathon, I sent in my two cents which, of course, he turned my topic question upside down every which way and came up with – tada! a quintessential WSL post for you. Enjoy it and let us know what you think!

The Post That Would Not Sit Still

Hoong Yee asked me to write something about the glass being half-full or half-empty. Specifically, am I a glass half-full or half-empty person?

Like a true artist–or is it lame-o? Diva?– I took her advice, sort of ignored it, and started writing a post called “Why Do We Create Things?”

Fortunately, it cycled back around, but not quite in the way I expected.

So!

Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

Clichés

It’s hard for me to hear this question without rolling my eyes. I’m an upbeat person but I’m not immune to the occasional groan when I’m confronted with an overused phrase.

Now, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a worthwhile question. It’s not the question’s fault that it’s been repeated so often that it’s become trite for loathsome squids like myself.

And yet, whenever I hear the question, what I hear transforms into: “Is the glass half- full of what?” I blame Chip Kidd, author of The Cheese Monkeys. A Wonderful Book That Has Sidetracked This Post

The story centers on a few college students and their graphic arts teacher. At one point, their wonderfully named professor, Winter Sorbeck, offers the following critique of a student’s project.

“She took lemons and made lemonade. It’s too bad she had to go and turn it into pee.”

How does this apply? This is my first memory of hearing a cliché turned into something completely different. That became my defense mechanism. From then on, whenever I heard something “tried and true,” it immediately morphed in my ears.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right” became “Two rights are right on!”

“No pain no gain” became “Gaining weight is painful on a date.”

I have no idea what either of those phrases mean…but The Cheese Monkeys is definitely worth reading.

To Answer The Question Hoong Yee Asked

To answer Hoong Yee’s question of whether I’m a glass half-full person, I say yes—provided the glass is full of something I like. Orange juice, for instance. If the glass is half-full of sulfuric acid, I don’t want anything to do with it.

But I am an optimist, and that is why I stay curious: because it takes a good attitude to keep learning. Curiosity takes effort. Effort and persistence lead to progress, and progress leads to feeling good.

I call feeling good and looking forward to tomorrow optimism. If that means the glass is half-full, so be it.

I just might not say it quite that way.

And the answer to the question Hoong Yee didn’t ask

Why do we create things? Because we’re curious. Because we want to fill a lack.

I took a look at Hoong Yee’s immaculate blog and my subconscious said: This blog lacks a brief review of The Cheese Monkeys, a lot of rambling, and it definitely doesn’t have any incoherent gibberish.

Hoong Yee, we did it! Mission accomplished!

Whether we created something worthwhile together, I’ll leave to you, dear reader…but don’t blame Hoong Yee. I hacked into her blog and typed this mess without her knowledge.

Josh Hanagarne

Get Stronger, Get Smarter, Live Better…Every Day

About the Author: Josh Hanagarne writes World’s Strongest Librarian, a blog with advice about coping with Tourette’s Syndrome, kettlebells, book recommendations, buying pants when you’re 6’8”, old-time strongman training, and so much more. Please subscribe to Josh’s RSS Updates and Stronger, Smarter, Better Newsletter to stay in touch.