This post was originally published in October of 2015 on another platform:
Most have probably heard the analogy of perspective; is the cup half-full or half-empty? We have a 2008 Chevy Malibu. We've had it for about four years. For months we had the occasional check-engine light pop up, but the car didn't seem to have any issues. For this reason the wallet was focused in other places. A little over a month ago the check-engine light took a turn for the worse. More messages associated with the light came up on the dashboard when starting the car, and would intermittently insert themselves temporarily during a drive. Then finally the biggest concern, the battery light came on. All of this happened as our deadline for getting the emissions check done for registration renewal was approaching.
My wife found a place recommended by someone we know. We took it in and, not surprisingly, when they tested the alternator it was bad. The other alarms, they said, were common when the electrical power was low. True to their word, when we got the car back everything seemed better except my wallet. Within a day the computer system reset (as planned), then some alarms came back (not as planned). We just figured it'd be some sensors to replace. Unfortunately things went downhill fast. Another day and all the old symptoms reappeared. We believed it couldn't be the alternator since that had just been replaced. A quick stop at an auto parts store proved the battery was not holding a charge, so they replaced it. Luckily that was free since the battery was still in warranty. It didn't fix the symptoms though, so back to the shop. They tested the brand-new alternator and pronounced it as bad also. A replacement was installed and we were back behind the wheel. Since this one was a replacement to the one they supplied it didn't cost us anything.
A few days after this we saw a few alarms again pop up, but they seemed unrelated. The check-engine light was intermittent. This went on for three weeks when I got an unhappy text from home. The battery light was back. Not sure we could trust the same shop, we took it to the dealer. Sure enough… the alternator was bad. They lightened my wallet by putting in a new one, but they had more things to say about the other alarms. Over the next week we fixed the problems (turned out to be several) and simultaneously lightened our bank account again. Just today, after fixing a number of issues, we got word that all the faults are gone and the emission test passed.
While all this was going on, the financial impact was timed just right in a month that we had some "extra" money come in. My initial reaction was, "Of course. We get a little extra money and instead of being able to use it for something we want to use it for we have to use it for that stupid car." That is clearly a cup-half-empty perspective. I can remember similar experiences when my reaction was more along the lines of, "How blessed we are. Just when something bad hits us we get the extra money come in that we need to cover it." That is the cup-half-full version of the exact same situation.
After thinking it over, it feels like our ability to cover our costs seems to ebb and flow fairly consistently in sync with the ebb and flow of the needs we have. That is a testimony builder for me in that it feels like we are being watched over and cared for. At the same time there are days when I wish that the revenues as compared to the liabilities would stay above the changing financial tide so that when family costs go down the margin between the two would increase even if the revenues don't. I think I would consider the positive version of this financial allegory gratitude. The negative financial wish could be some display of ingratitude.
I don't know why these sort of life experiences appear to me differently at different times. Why do I see some as half-full events in which I feel gratitude for the blessings? Why do some of them feel like half-empty events that bring me to grumbling in at least a partial spirit of ingratitude? Once I recognized this experience in context of my reaction I was quick to chide myself for not counting my blessings. It does help to understand that despite this specific occurrence of a first-world problem, our life is actually very good and we have every reason to be grateful and happy.
The effort isn't over until I get the car registration renewed and can legally drive it on the street for another year. Although all this made my wallet thinner, I wouldn't recommend the process for weight loss. On the question of half-full or half-empty, I know a former colleague who liked to say neither was true, but rather the cup was over-engineered.
Most have probably heard the analogy of perspective; is the cup half-full or half-empty? We have a 2008 Chevy Malibu. We've had it for about four years. For months we had the occasional check-engine light pop up, but the car didn't seem to have any issues. For this reason the wallet was focused in other places. A little over a month ago the check-engine light took a turn for the worse. More messages associated with the light came up on the dashboard when starting the car, and would intermittently insert themselves temporarily during a drive. Then finally the biggest concern, the battery light came on. All of this happened as our deadline for getting the emissions check done for registration renewal was approaching.
My wife found a place recommended by someone we know. We took it in and, not surprisingly, when they tested the alternator it was bad. The other alarms, they said, were common when the electrical power was low. True to their word, when we got the car back everything seemed better except my wallet. Within a day the computer system reset (as planned), then some alarms came back (not as planned). We just figured it'd be some sensors to replace. Unfortunately things went downhill fast. Another day and all the old symptoms reappeared. We believed it couldn't be the alternator since that had just been replaced. A quick stop at an auto parts store proved the battery was not holding a charge, so they replaced it. Luckily that was free since the battery was still in warranty. It didn't fix the symptoms though, so back to the shop. They tested the brand-new alternator and pronounced it as bad also. A replacement was installed and we were back behind the wheel. Since this one was a replacement to the one they supplied it didn't cost us anything.
A few days after this we saw a few alarms again pop up, but they seemed unrelated. The check-engine light was intermittent. This went on for three weeks when I got an unhappy text from home. The battery light was back. Not sure we could trust the same shop, we took it to the dealer. Sure enough… the alternator was bad. They lightened my wallet by putting in a new one, but they had more things to say about the other alarms. Over the next week we fixed the problems (turned out to be several) and simultaneously lightened our bank account again. Just today, after fixing a number of issues, we got word that all the faults are gone and the emission test passed.
While all this was going on, the financial impact was timed just right in a month that we had some "extra" money come in. My initial reaction was, "Of course. We get a little extra money and instead of being able to use it for something we want to use it for we have to use it for that stupid car." That is clearly a cup-half-empty perspective. I can remember similar experiences when my reaction was more along the lines of, "How blessed we are. Just when something bad hits us we get the extra money come in that we need to cover it." That is the cup-half-full version of the exact same situation.
After thinking it over, it feels like our ability to cover our costs seems to ebb and flow fairly consistently in sync with the ebb and flow of the needs we have. That is a testimony builder for me in that it feels like we are being watched over and cared for. At the same time there are days when I wish that the revenues as compared to the liabilities would stay above the changing financial tide so that when family costs go down the margin between the two would increase even if the revenues don't. I think I would consider the positive version of this financial allegory gratitude. The negative financial wish could be some display of ingratitude.
I don't know why these sort of life experiences appear to me differently at different times. Why do I see some as half-full events in which I feel gratitude for the blessings? Why do some of them feel like half-empty events that bring me to grumbling in at least a partial spirit of ingratitude? Once I recognized this experience in context of my reaction I was quick to chide myself for not counting my blessings. It does help to understand that despite this specific occurrence of a first-world problem, our life is actually very good and we have every reason to be grateful and happy.
The effort isn't over until I get the car registration renewed and can legally drive it on the street for another year. Although all this made my wallet thinner, I wouldn't recommend the process for weight loss. On the question of half-full or half-empty, I know a former colleague who liked to say neither was true, but rather the cup was over-engineered.
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