Half a Bottle of Oil
Recently I read a story like this: A long time ago, a mother gave her eldest son ten dollars and an empty bottle, asking him to buy oil. The boy filled the bottle, but on the way home, he fell and spilled half the oil. When he returned home, he cried to his mother in sadness and said there was only half a bottle of oil left. The mother gave the second son ten dollars and an empty bottle to buy oil. On the way home, the second son also fell and spilled half the oil. When he returned home, he happily told his mother, “I was quick-eyed and quick-handed and saved half the oil, so we still have half a bottle.” The mother gave the youngest son ten dollars and an empty bottle to buy oil. The same thing happened again. The youngest son also fell, and the oil spilled until there was only half left. When he returned home, he explained the events to his mother and then said, “Although I saved half the oil, there is still half that was lost. I saw someone advertising for workers at the market, so I want to work for half a day and earn five dollars to refill this oil bottle.”
This story reminds me of the practical psychology we have taught for so many years. It is not about being pessimistic and only seeing that half is left, nor about being blindly optimistic and happily celebrating that we still have half. Facing the reality of half a bottle of oil honestly and taking proactive action to solve the problem is clearly a much wiser approach. If we don’t solve the issue of falling, it’s unlikely that this bottle of oil will ever be filled again.
Practical psychology tells us that if the fall was caused by an uneven road, do we have the ability to fix the road? Or perhaps set up a sign to warn ourselves and other pedestrians? Under the premise of understanding ourselves, we can adjust the solution, such as taking a detour or adding a bottle cap, and so on.
