Half-empty, half-full: Does it matter unless what's actually in the glass is particularly good...or particularly bad...or, of course, if you're really, really thirsty?
I've taken to leaving my water bottle at home these days, instead using a glass from work. But the glass is, by intent, filled only to the half-way mark on most trips to the tap. This forces me to leave my chair more often. With even mediocre luck, I can make the round-trip between cube-pod and break room without being knocked out of the problem-solving "zone." And so can return to the problem(s) at hand with a slightly boosted heart rate and the means of staying hydrated (also good for staying alert) during the next interval.
Philosophical questions like half-empty vs. half-full are quite fun when you're in school or making cocktail party conversation. But I also appreciate how the workaday world adds dimensions--to quote Hamlet--"never dream't of in your philosophy."
