When I successfully quit my job, I remember my boss being understanding and saying, “go fill your bucket”. I didn’t quite know what she meant by that but I knew it meant I was missing something. So I did some research and read the book, “How Full Is Your Bucket?”. Lightbulb! My bucket was empty and I desperately need to refill it.
The Bucket
I know you are thinking “What in the world is a ‘bucket’?” Let me explain. The bucket represents our mental and emotional self. So when our bucket is full, we feel more confident, secure, calm, patient, and friendly. And when our bucket is empty, we have very few, positive thoughts or feelings.
Full Bucket = Our thoughts are positive and we expect positive results.
When our bucket is full, we experience happiness that can spread to those around us. Have you ever felt a little better after someone gave you a big happy smile? Yeah, this is the ripple effect of a full bucket.
Empty Bucket= We can easily become unhappy, negative, insecure, stressed, angry, or worried.
Even worse, an empty bucket can affect our behavior and usually cause us to express our emotions in a way that empties the buckets of those around us.
Life, both the negative events and the positive events will affect the levels of happiness in our bucket. But honestly, our own self-talk and thoughts can dramatically reduce or raise the level of happiness in our bucket. It’s important for us to realize that we are responsible for what we choose to think and when our thoughts are positive and healthy, our bucket levels will reflect it.
How Do We Fill Buckets?
- Actions or words that show that you care about someone.
- Saying or doing something kind.
- Giving someone a heartfelt smile.
- Using names with respect.
- Helping without being asked.
- Giving sincere compliments.
- Showing respect for others.
There are a ton of wonderful ways to fill buckets.
I bet you are thinking, how does that fill MY bucket? Here it is. Your bucket will be filled when, at the end of each day, you reflect on the ways in which you have filled buckets. And as you being to fill the buckets of those around you, I promise you, they will begin to overflow back to you.
Share with me ways that you fill the buckets of those around you are how they fill your buckets?
