Fill Up “Buckets” of Well-Being – 30-Day Personal Challenge

Each day is full of thousands of moments that either positively or negatively affect our sense of well-being. The Gallup research-based book “How Full is Your Bucket?” uses the metaphor of a bucket and dipper to demonstrate how to greatly increase the positive moments, and reduce the negative, in our own and others’ lives. We can either add water to or dip from buckets. Filling others’ buckets fills theirs, and also our own. The book explains that even the briefest interactions between family, friends, and colleagues “affect your relationships, productivity, health, and longevity.”

That’s a powerful idea and it rings true for me. So with that in mind, my 30-day challenge this month is to “fill up buckets of well-being.” In the NY-Times bestselling book “How Full is Your Bucket?” by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D, they give 5 practical strategies for increasing positive emotions by habitually “filling buckets.”

I’ll briefly introduce the 5 strategies and explain my thoughts here:

Strategy 1 – Prevent Bucket Dipping: Reduce negative emotions by minimizing dipping from others’ buckets.

My thoughts: At home, at work, and throughout life, I want to be extra careful to respect and “lift up” other people, rather than “drag them down” with unnecessary negativity, criticism, grouchiness, or doubt. I have many kind, talented, unique people in my life. I want to do my best to support their success and happiness. I also want to give myself the same kindness.

Strategy 2 – Shine a Light on What is Right: Fill others’ buckets with recognition, cooperation, and warmth. Allow others to fill your bucket. Every time a bucket is filled, a positive ripple effect is set in motion.

My thoughts: Life isn’t perfect, but there are so many things that go right every day. Most people are genuine, good, hard-working and deserve hearty recognition for their efforts. I want to make the world a brighter place by focusing on the good in others and myself. I love the idea that adding drops to another’s bucket can have far-reaching positive ripple effects. Also, I can’t remember where, but I recently came across the idea of truly savoring each of your own exceptional moments for (at the very least) a full 30 seconds. Sometimes it’s easy to skip this and race through life. It’s really powerful and affirming to just stop, metaphorically roll around in whatever goodness you’re experiencing, and make it a part of you in a deep down real way.

Strategy 3 – Make Best Friends: Having great relationships increases life satisfaction. Close relationships are key. But also important are relationships with acquaintances and even strangers.

My thoughts: I have some wonderful close friends and family. And I love meeting new people and connecting with them too. In a way, I kind of want everyone to be my best friend. Life feels sweeter when it’s shared with good company. I want to continue to strengthen and nurture my existing relationships and expand my network of friends.

Strategy 4 – Give Unexpectedly: Look for ways to give small surprise gifts. These don’t need to cost much or anything.

My thoughts: I greatly enjoy giving gifts. I’m on a budget, so it’s always tricky. But it’s good for me to remember that it’s the thought that counts, not the price tag. It’s more important for gifts to be personalized than expensive. And friendship, laughs, kind words, time, and extended trust are all excellent gifts that don’t cost anything.

Strategy 5 – Reverse the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.” Treat people as individuals.

My thoughts: Each person has their own unique recipe for happiness. I want to put an emphasis on listening to other people and figuring out what gives them a positive sense of well-being. I want to fill up buckets of well-being accordingly. Not everyone needs or wants the same things. One person might want a lively conversation, while another might need space. One person might love to receive a compliment, while another might appreciate a helping hand. Even little efforts count, add up, and have compounding benefits.

The strategies for increasing interpersonal relationship positivity in “How Full is Your Bucket?” seem solid to me. I’m excited to proceed with my 30-day personal challenge to “fill up buckets of well-being.” Seems like the sort of thing that makes life worthwhile and rewarding. I think I’m already decent at bucket filling. But there are thousands of opportunities every day and there’s always room to improve. At the same time, I know I can’t be all things to all people. And I’m not perfect. So I’ll do what I can, and I’ll enjoy it, and that’ll be good enough.

I found my copy of this book at a garage sale. It was a lucky find. There are also copies available on Amazon for about $13.

Another cool thing about this book is that it includes a free access code to the StrengthsFinder online assessment, which helps you identify your top 5 strengths. Trust me, you’ll love this quiz. It’s always a pleasant experience to recognize your own strengths. So it’s a nice added bonus.

As always, thank you for reading Thoughts on the Good Life. Have a beautiful week my friends!

Next Week: 5 Books that’ll Expand Your Sense of Possibility

Article photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash