By Laura M. Blackwell, MSSA, LISW, Life Coach
I just finished a terrific book, “How Full is Your Bucket?” by Tom Rather and Donald O. Clifton, PhD. Not only does it have some great ideas, but it’s also less than a 100 pages and easy to read. The book is based on more than 50 years of comprehensive psychological and workplace research.
The Bucket Theory goes something like this: everyone has an emotional bucket. When you say something nice, kind or affirming to someone, you not only fill their bucket, but you also fill your own. Of course, the opposite applies. When you’re a dipper instead of a filler, you have made the choice—conscious or unconscious—to say or do something hurtful.
Filling and dipping are powerful choices you make all day, every day. Think about it, filling someone’s emotional bucket gives others a positive outlook and renewed energy. Every drop in their bucket makes them strong and more optimistic. However, dipping into someone’s bucket poisons their outlook, saps their energy and undermines their will.
You can fill someone’s bucket or you can dip from them. You have that choice every moment of every day. Your choices, each one of them, profoundly influence your relationships, your productivity, your health and your happiness.
The Bucket Theory is based on Gallup’s survey of 4 million workers. The surveys showed that the number one reason people leave their jobs is because they feel unappreciated. When workers are actively disengaged, companies lose significant dollars in productivity due to negativity, absence, illness and accidents, lost clients, and other problems.
